School Daze
by Alexander-Crossover
Summary: Part 7 of the Teen Care Bear Series. Even with Fauna's death life must move on, that includes the Care Bears learning to cope with being in school. Will they realize its for the good, or will they fight it tooth and nail? In the falls, Renegade begins his long road to being a shaman under White Fang. What kind of shenanigans will follow?
1. School Arc, Part 1

**School Daze**

Chapter 1

"Beep beep beeep beeep beeep beeep beeep beeep" Swift Heart's ears flicked towards the obnoxious noise coming from the nightstand. Attempting to ignore it she rolled over, burrowing her head deeper in the pillow. "BEEP BEEP BEEEP BEEEP BEEP BEEP" It called more insistently.

Groaning she grabbed on tight to the pillow and rolled onto her stomach, "Grumpy make it stop."

Grumpy groaned as well and slammed his hand down on the snooze button, "Ugg just five more minutes," he put his arms around Swift Heart and pulled her against his chest.

"Mmmmm maybe 10." She sighed contently as his arms held her close.

"Thanks for spending the night," Grumpy smiled and kissed her neck.

"Thanks for waking me up like this," she hadn't opened her eyes yet but then again it didn't take her long to get ready. Placing her arm on top of Grumpy's she gripped his hand, holding it in place around her middle. "Do we haaaaave to go to school?"

"I wish we didn't have to," Grumpy admitted, kissing her softly on the neck again, "but we can't skip on the first day. Maybe we can skip in a week or two."

"For a week or two?" She asked hopefully. Looking over her shoulder at him she kissed him on the lips.

"If we can find a way," Grumpy said. He carefully helped Swift Heart turn around and pulled her closer, "any getaway ideas."

"I've heard Hawaii is very nice, nice and warm and romantic." Facing him now she tucked her head under his chin. "I do like being warm."

"I can tell," he pulled her closer with his legs and arms.

"So, 20 more minutes then?" She teased, kissing him a few times.

"I think we can manage, we might have to share the shower though," Grumpy teased back.

She pulled back, "Hmmm well if that's the case then..." Her lips found their way to his chin and then down his neck while her hand trailed softly down his side. Grumpy shuddered under her touch and carefully reached to turn the alarm off so it wouldn't interrupt them.

"Very good call honey," she purred as she kissed him warmly, letting her tongue skim his lips.

"Mmm, I thought so," Grumpy opened his mouth and kissed her back.

"These sleepovers were the best idea we ever had," her hand came to rest over the tattoo on his chest.

"Better than the idea to have you break the rescue beam?" Grumpy asked, chuckling.

She nodded, "One of them involves kissing and one doesn't." Feeling a kink in her back she pulled back slightly and stretched her arms and legs as far as they would go squealing in relief. Grumpy took the chance to kiss Swift Heart's down over the tummy symbol. Gripping the sheets she arched her back with a pleased gasp. By the Great Wishing Star she had missed him.

"Oh you like that don't you," he teased, kissing her softly all around the winged heart.

"Don't play stupid, you know I do," her fingers flexed, pulling the sheets and her ears began to curl in pleasure.

"Ohh I know," Grumpy tickled her sides while continuing to kiss her symbol.

Laughing she squirmed under his ministrations. "Hahaha we are hahaha never getting up at hahahah this rate!"

"Yeah, too bad," Grumpy crawled up and kissed her on the lips, his hands going up to stroke her ears.

Wrapping her arms around his middle she held him on top of her, lips caressing his; pausing briefly to remind him once more, "I love you."

"I love you too," Grumpy kissed her deep again, "but we should get moving before anyone shows up to kick us out of bed."

Swift Hearts eyes clouded over briefly, "I don't think we'll have to worry about that anymore." Kissing him once in apology she tossed back the covers and headed for the bathroom.

Grumpy slid out after her and followed, "May I join you?" he asked.

She nodded, "Maybe I should be asking you that. Since it is your house."

"Maybe, but I don't want you to feel uncomfortable," Grumpy said, coming up behind her as they stepped into the bathroom.

"I'm never uncomfortable around you." Grabbing the toothbrush Grumpy had gotten for her she rested one hand on the sink and started to get rid of her morning breath. Meeting Grumpy's eyes in the mirror she smiled at him. Grumpy smiled and followed suit with his own toothbrush, also reaching for some mouthwash. Finishing up she rinsed the toothpaste from her mouth before leaning over to Grumpy's side and stealing his mouthwash. Taking a swig straight from the bottle she swirled it around her mouth.

Grumpy spit his own mouthful, "tasty?" he asked grinning.

Swift Heart blew a puff of air in his face, "Minty fresh."

"Definitely," Grumpy leaned over and kissed her.

Smiling she asked, "Do we still have time for that shower?"

"We do. You're alright with me seeing you naked then?" Grumpy asked.

Butterflies in her stomach but keeping her smile cocky Swift Heart slowly shimmied off her pajama pants, "We gotta start somewhere right? Besides...I'm feeling more confident about **that**."

"I'm willing to wait, but thanks," Grumpy kissed her again and reached around her back to undo her bra.

Propping her hands on her hips she raised an eyebrow at him, "And how exactly is it Grumpy, that you know how to work a bra?"

"Well, I don't," Grumpy admitted, "A little help please?"

Turning so her back faced him, Swift Heart expertly reached her hands around and undid the hook. Slowly she slid the straps off her shoulders and dramatically dropped it to the floor.

"I need practise I guess," Grumpy couldn't help but blush.

"You and about 90% of all guys out there," she said over her shoulder to him. Grumpy didn't reply but turned to the bathtub and turned on the shower, adjusting the temperature.

Steeling up the last bit of her courage she removed her underwire while Grumpy's back was turned. Facing him now she waited for him to turn around, "Hope you're not disappointed."

Once the temperature was set Grumpy turned around and smiled, "How could I be?" Grumpy slipped his boxers off and moved in to kiss her, "Now let's get showered."

Most of the rest of the Kingdom of Caring was reluctantly rising as well, both students and teachers. The teachers were up first and had gathered in the Hall of Hearts before anyone else. Tenderheart got on the intercom and gave the announcement.

"Attention. Attention. All Care Bears and Cousins report to the Hall of Hearts. School is about to begin."

Finally the rest of the family began filing in, some enthusiastic but most reluctantly dragging their feet and the school bags they had purchased for the event. Even though they were reluctant, Grumpy and Swift walked in hand-in hand.

"Too bad they're splitting up the couples," Grumpy sighed as he took his seat at the heart table.

For now Swift Heart sat next to him. "That's what lunch and the few minutes in between class periods are for," She told him with a smirk. "Thanks for stopping by Fauna's memorial with me," She kissed his cheek.

"There's no way I wouldn't," Grumpy put his arm around her, "there won't be a day that I don't go there."

"A lot of us share that sentiment," Valiant Heart said, sitting near to them.

Swift Heart nodded to him, "Yeah I saw all the flowers and stuff. I appreciate it. But do you know who left the box of tissues?"

Playful and Funshine came by, "That was me. You had me really worried because you just wouldn't stop crying! I thought the Forest was going to flood."

Funshine nodded, "It's true, he was really worried. Glad to see you're doing better."

"I am. And I hate to say it but school will be a nice distraction. For a while anyway," Swift Heart told her.

Treat Heart came in with five large containers full of muffins. "Hi everyone! I made muffins for us all. Hope you guys are hungry!" She put the containers on the table. Ever since the Falls incident she had been on a cooking spree.

"Thanks Treat Heart," Defiant got up from the teacher's stand and grabbed a muffin before heading back up to the front.

"You've been turning out all sorts of stuff lately." Birthday commented even as he bit into a muffin. "Mmmm not that I'm complaining, these are awesome!"

She giggled, "Thanks Birthday." Etienne reached over her shoulder for one, making her jump.

"You not trying to butter us up, are you petite?" He teased making her giggle.

"Well she's probably going to be the star of your classes, Illy," Gloria said, taking a muffin for herself.

"Good it can make up for my supreme lack of cooking skills," Swift Heart joked.

"Alright everyone settle down," True Heart called, having taken a muffin herself as everyone sat down while eating. "As you all know, today is the first day of our Care Bear Family high school program. Now we have all made an extensive series of classes for most of you," She looked over at Terra Heart, "Terra Heart will be with me for tutoring sessions so I can teach her how to read braille, among other things."

"Now we've divided up the classes in a fair manner, and yes the rumors are true that no known couples will be in the same classes together," Noble Heart's announcement was followed by a few groans. "You're in class to learn, not to make out."

"Well then the same rule should apply to the teachers." Looking at Harmony and Brave Heart Cheer crossed her arms, "They shouldn't be allowed to be all smoochy smoochy during class time either."

"They aren't teaching together," Noble Heart countered, "Now as for the classroom divisions, the first class will consist of: Share Bear, Wish Bear, Playful Heart Monkey, Gentle Heart Lamb, Lotsa Heart Elephant and Cheer Bear."

Cheer groaned at being paired with the monkey and he poked her with his tail, "Don't worry Cheer. I promise to mostly behave."

"You'll promise to totally behave. Otherwise the teachers have permission to issue detention." True Heart warned him before reading off Noble Heart's list, "Alright guys the next class is Loyal Heart, Champ, Snowy, Bedtime, and Grumpy."

"A fair grouping," Loyal Heart agreed.

"Should be..." Bedtime yawned, "Just fine."

Grumpy seemed as indifferent as always, simply sitting there with his usual scowl. Champ high fived Snowy, "Nice! All bros!"

Snowy received his high five, "Should be fun, especially in gym."

"At least someone is happy with the classroom arrangements," Tenderheart sighed, "The third class is: Jolly Heart Platypus, Grateful Heart Platypus, Secret Bear, Treat Heart Pig, and Love-a-Lot Bear."

"Oy ta mates! Thats bonza!" Jolly called with a grin while smiling at his sister.

"Thanks for putting me with Julian," she replied.

"I just hope Secret Bear can handle things without Friend to interpret for her," Treat Heart said. Secret just waved a hand at her to reassure her that she could.

"Alright and finally we have Valiant, Friend, Funshine, Swift Heart, Cozy Heart, and Birthday." Brave Heart read out. Cozy and Swift Heart exchanged a big smile.

"Great, a prankster in my class," Valiant sighed.

"Aww she's the baby prankster. You'll be fine," Swift Heart reassured him while winking at Funshine.

"Sure," Valiant rolled his eyes.

"As for teachers," Bright Heart stood up, "I will be teaching science and shop classes, Illusion will be teaching cooking, Defiant is teaching language and grammar, Proud Heart is teaching health and wellness, Brave Heart will be in charge of gym and physical fitness, Harmony is teaching music, Tenderheart is teaching history, and Noble Heart will be teach all the math classes."

"Like we couldn't have figured that out for ourselves," Grumpy grumbled.

"How long are we going to be in school?" Lotsa Heart asked.

"At least a year, then however long it takes for you to reach the acceptable grades for each class," True Heart replied.

"So where are each of our classes going first?" Birthday asked.

Noble checked over his list, "Alright everyone in the group with Share, you will be going to Language and Grammar, Champ's group to History, Secret's to Music, and Valiant's to science."

"You will be getting the rest of your schedule in your first period," True Heart added.

"So where are the classes, exactly?" Friend asked.

"We've converted some of the unused houses for potential new arrivals into classrooms," Defiant said.

"The gym, track and obstacle course will be where my fitness classes are held," Brave Heart added.

"Cookin class gon be at mah house. Desole an no offense True an' Noble but de facilities anywhere else are...less den ideal." He informed them, not looking sorry at all.

"As long as you have enough space and stations for everyone to use, that will be fine," Noble Heart said, not taking offense.

He nodded, "De way Ah have it laid out we gonna be jus fine."

"Alright gang, let's get going then. Meet up with your class mates and head off to your first class." True Heart told them with an encouraging smile.

"See you later then Swift," Grumpy said as he joined with Loyal, Champ and Snowy, who were helping Bedtime to stand.

"You should consider changing your sleeping schedule," Snowy suggested to Bedtime. The blue bear merely yawned in response.

Swift Heart had instantly found Cozy and the two hooked up with the rest of their group. "At least we don't have math first thing in the morning." Swift Heart said happily.

Cozy scowled, "Lucky for you. I hate ssssscience."

"What kind of science is Bright Heart going to teach us anyways?" Valiant asked.

"Just a general overview today, and a few short subjects, I'll tell you more when we're in class," Bright Heart said as he jogged passed them.

Swift Heart looked on in disbelief, "We have to practically drag him out to work out with the cousins. But give him a classroom full of fun science toys and he's jogging there! I knew this school thing was trouble."

"Just wait until we're actually in class," Friend sighed.

Bright Heart was indeed enthusiastic. He had even donned a white lab coat and had sets of protective goggles lined up on his desk. His grin was halfway between smug and eager as he stood in front of the chalkboard.

"We can keep the introductions out of things since we all know each other," he said in greeting.

"Are we doing the 'how to make a stink bomb' lesson? Because I already know that one," Funshine told him teasingly as she took a seat.

"I'm aware of that," Bright Heart sighed, "As for what we're going to be doing, we're going to be doing a basic overview of a few fields for today. Eventually everyone is going to pick one field to focus on and do a project for the end of the semester."

Valiant Heart raised a hand, "What do you mean by semester, Bright Heart?"

"Well at the halfway point of this school year we're switching over to more practical studies: woodworking, mechanics, sewing, electrical or another field where you work with your hands with the same end goal, a choice of field and a chosen project that will count for most of your final grade."

"That sounds like a good idea. Well thought out Bright Heart." Birthday told him and meaning it. Swift Heart was ecstatic as well, she had a boyfriend who would make sure she got an A on the final.

"Thank you, Birthday. And yes, Funshine, if you want to do chemistry you can, but I'd like it if you chose a field you aren't familiar with," Bright Heart said.

"So why the practical part of this class?" Friend asked.

"You want me to be honest?" Bright Heart leaned forwards, "We need more able hands around the Kingdom of Caring. Every time something breaks, or malfunctions or goes haywire or something needs to be built, Grumpy and I have to do it. We're good but it gets very tiring, and Grams likes sewing but even she can't keep up with requests that are made from time to time. We want each member of the family to find one thing they love to do and hopefully take that skill to a point that they can help out when something comes up."

"You've clearly put a lot of thought in thissss Bright Heart. I think it ssssounds great." Cozy Heart approved.

"And it sounds like we'll have lots of time to figure out what our special skill will be. Right Bright Heart?" Funshine inquired.

"I have, and you will. We'll devote a week to go in depth with each potential discipline. Now due to the unique nature of this, if two or three of you in the same class decide that you're interested in pursuing the same area then you may team up for your projects. I'm talking with Noble Heart about potentially allowing for inter-class group team ups," Bright Heart said, "but it will be harder since you'll have to arrange to work on such things only on your time off, unless you can coordinate well enough to work individually for a time."

"Seems fair."

Twirling her pencil Swift Heart looked at the goggles on the counter, "And our first lesson is going to be?"

"We're starting with chemistry, that way we can get the most annoying introduction out of the way first," Bright Heart actually glared as Funshine, who put on her bet innocent face.

"Want me to passsss out the goggelssss Professsor Bright Heart?" Cozy asked trying not to giggle as she did so.

"Yes, thank you Cozy," Bright Heart nodded. "Now the first thing to learn is the periodic table of the elements," as Cozy took the goggles Bright Heart took out a poster, unrolled it and stuck it to the chalkboard. Valiant gulped visibly when he saw how large it was. "Don't worry, you don't have to memorise it today, this is just to give you an idea of how complex chemistry can be. You need to understand what properties each element has, how they're grouped, and what form they take or how they react when combined."

Seeing the horrified look cross her friend's face Swift Heart cackled. "And yet this still isn't as bad as math class." Cozy stuck her tongue out at her and passed Valiant his goggles.

"How is it you know all this stuff anyway Bright Heart? Just from reading and self-teaching?" Funshine asked him.

"Yes, actually." Bright Heart replied, "Now I don't want to overwhelm you so I'll give you the basics. Every element here is represented by a unique atom, one of the smallest building blocks of all matter. The number on each element is the number of protons and electrons in each element. Do any of you know what an atom looks like?" he asked.

"Oooo! Yes actually! It's in the opening credits of Big Bang Theory," Swift Heart said excitedly. Quickly she sketched it on a piece of note paper and held it up for approval.

Bright Heart couldn't resist a chuckle, "Yes, that's exactly it. The cluster in the center is the nucleus, composed of protons and usually neutrons," Bright Heart redrew the image on the chalkboard, "the orbiting bits are electrons. Protons have a positive charge and electrons have a negative charge so all atoms have a neutral charge. You should be writing this down," he added. The scratching of pens on paper was heard soon thereafter.

"What about neutrons?" Valiant asked.

"Well neutrons have no charge, and unlike protons and electrons the number isn't always equal to the number of the element," Bright Heart explained. He drew a circle with one orbiting dot next to the large atom diagram, "This is an atom of hydrogen, number 1 on the periodic table. As you can see it only has one proton and one orbiting electron but no neutrons. Some larger elements have many more neutrons than they have protons or electrons. Just remember that all true elements have a neutral charge. Now you notice that the table is rather oddly shaped, that's because each element is in a group based on their related properties..."

The first period ended and the classes headed off to their next class. "You know after the first couple of minutes Defiant actually surprised me," Wish mused as her group left grammar.

"I know what you mean. I totally thought get was going to be obstinate," Cheer agreed.

"I hope that the other teachers are just as mellow," Share smiled.

"He was easy to learn from," Gentle agreed.

"And so fetching in that outfit," Lotsa commented.

Playful looked confused by His friend's word choice, "I didn't really notice."

"I agree with you Lotsa. He does cleanup nice," Cheer said.

"Well what's our next class?" Gentle asked.

Share checked the schedule that Defiant had given her, "Phys ed with Brave Heart."

Chuckling Playful Heart flipped onto his hands. "I'm looking forward to it."

"So is Brave Heart. We saw him setting up for you guys." Champ said as his group passed theirs.

"That, makes me nervous," Gentle Heart admitted.

Cheer gave Champ a kiss on his cheek, "Still awake after Tenderheart's class I see. That makes me have hope."

"There wasn't much, but he did give us the eras we'd be studying," Snowy moved to kiss Share as well, "He actually seemed enthusiastic about it."

"He has seemed happier lately," Share noted.

"And Love a Lot is convinced it's because he's seeing someone. But she doesn't know who and it's driving her crazy." Wish said with a smile.

Bedtime shrugged sleepily, "Whatever. Just as long as he stays this way."

"Well just keep an eye on who he treats specially in class," Lotsa said.

"We should get going, I don't want to be late for Brave Heart's class," Gentle said.

"See you later Cheer."

They exchanged a kiss and Cheer fixed his hair. "Honestly Champ, would it kill you to own a brush?"

He chuckled "maybe," he moved off with his group.

Brave Heart was already in his coach's uniform by the time the group arrived. "Welcome, everyone to, Brave Heart's physical education and fitness classes. Now I know you're a bit nervous but don't worry, today we're just learning to stretch and getting your gym uniforms."

"Gym uniforms?" Share asked.

"Yes. While I appreciate your unique fashion choices, most of them aren't appropriate for exercise. You'll need shorts and t-shirts for this class," Brave Heart gestured to the large cardboard boxes in front of him, "Each of your uniforms has your name on it. Grams and Take Care gave us all your relevant measurements so we could skip the fitting," He nodded at the group.

"All of them?" Gentle squeaked, trying to shrink her large bosom into her sweatshirt.

"Relax, it's all confidential. The undergarments should keep everything, umm, stable," Brave Heart coughed.

"Oh for petes sake Brave Heart you can say sports Bra. It's okay," Cheer chided him while coming up to get her clothes.

"Where are we changing?" Wish asked.

"We installed boy's and girl's shower and changing rooms in the back," Brave Heart pointed to two new doors at the back of the gym, "There are lockers for each of you back there to store your school books and clothes."

"Alright then," Lotsa found his gym clothing in the largest of the boxes before heading to the boy's change room.

Playful followed him and the girls headed for their locker room. Wish Bear looped her arm through Gentle Heart's, "You'll be fine. I mean after all you've known Brave Heart for years. He must know you're endowed right?"

"He knows, but I've never really exercised like this before, besides swimming," Gentle Heart held her sports bra up from the box. "You're sure this will work."

"Don't worry, Gentle, it will be fine. We've all seen you by now and I'm sure Grams knew what she was doing when she made these," Share said as she began to change into her own gym clothes.

Cheer nodded. "Yea. And Swifty swears by them. They are all she runs in."

"OK," Gentle smiled. She took a breath as she pulled off her sweater and undid her original bra before pulling on the sports bra. Her t-shirt slid on surprisingly easily. She paused and bounced a couple times, "Grams does know her stuff," she said, breathing a sigh of relief before replacing her jeans with the gym shorts.

"We told you there was no reason to worry," Share patted her on the back, "No logo but the tummy symbol is a nice addition," she touched the milkshake on the front of her shirt.

Slipping her shirt on and redoing her ponytail Cheer went to the door, "Ready girls?"

"I'm ready," Share said. Gentle nodded as they went out to gym floor.

Playful bounded out of the boy's room looking none the worse for wear and grinning like a buffoon and with Lotsa treading behind him. "So where do we begin 'coach' Brave Heart?" Playful snickered.

"With some stretches so when you guys wake up tomorrow your muscles won't hate you. Or me," Brave Heart added with a laugh.

"Alright, so what do we do?" Share asked.

"Well just follow along with me," Brave Heart said as he bent over, touching his toes, "We need to go through all the major muscle groups at the start of every session. Now don't just reach and go back in an instant, hold your stretch pose for at least 30 seconds."

Lotsa Heart couldn't get all the way over. He got about halfway then grunted.

"Don't force it Lotsa. The more you do it the easier it will get." Brave Heart told him.

Playful Heart easily held the pose and looked at the others upside down through his legs, "Haha you guys look ridiculous."

Share was just barely able to reach her feet but she didn't comment on Playful statement. Gentle was able to reach her feet but felt her breasts get a little squished from the motion, "It's awkward," she admitted.

"If you're having trouble then try holding the sides of your feet, and no bending your knees, Wish," Brave Heart looked up at the green bear.

Straightening her knees she winced, "Darn. This hurts now." Cheer who was an avid yoga doer inhaled and exhaled slowly while bending over.

"You should feel a burn in your legs, especially if you're not used to this," Brave Heart finally straightened up, "Now for the rest of your leg, pull your leg up behind you with your arm," Brave Heart kicked his leg backwards and grabbed his foot in his hand, "If balance is an issue then do it next to the wall."

Brave Hearts warning wasnt quick enough however and Wish fell over, taking Playful with her. Laughing he helped her up "Good aim Wish." After their legs they focused on arms and back muscles. "Alright gang, how we feeling?"

"Looser, but I still feel the burn," Share said.

"That's good. If you don't stretch every time you're about to exercise them you will be very very sore the next day," Brave Heart cautioned, "I'd like you all to do ten laps around the gym, I moved the equipment to make room. I just need a general sense of your fitness level. Once that's done I can go over the sports we'll be working on this year."

The group took off jogging around the gym floor. Lotsa heart lost steam after about 3 laps and was moving very slowly. His feet were dragging as he panted. Gentle was immensely grateful for Gram's sports bra as she jogged, though she ended up in step beside Wish, who was panting a bit from the effort. Cheer was out in front with Playful and Share not far behind.

"That's good, keep it up. Lotsa if you can't finish ten laps then you can stop when everyone else is finished," Brave Heart called to the elephant.

He grubbed at Brave Heart, "Don't worry about it Brave Heart. I'm just pacing myself. And that's the truth."

"Alright but this isn't a marathon. Eventually we'll be seeing how many laps you can run in a fixed time," Brave Heart said.

By the time everyone else had finished their laps, Lotsa was only on his seventh lap. Brave Heart watched him, "Are you sure you want to finish?" he called to Lotsa.

The elephant was all but crawling on the ground and sweating profusely. "Maybe ...just...this once. " in front of Brave Heart again he keeled over.

"I agree with that," Playful was lying on his back and raised a finger in the air.

"Well you're going to have to run that every day so get used to it. But I'll give you a break today since we need to go over the sports we'll be doing. Now obviously we can't do much in single classes so for each team game each class group will be a team unto itself, but we'll still practise on our own," Brave Heart picked up his course book, "Now I understand that some of you might be wary of playing contact sports so we're going to start with something simple, soccer."

Wish giggled, "It's a shame Good Luck isn't here. He was always the best at soccer."

"Yeah, it's too bad," Share sighed.

"So what are we going to do in soccer today?" Gentle Heart asked.

"Just the basics, and soccer is very basic," Brave Heart replied. "Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world because it doesn't require any special gear or even a special field or set ups, all you need are two goals and a ball, though a normal soccer ball," Brave Heart walked over to where the balls were stored and pulled out a white and black soccer ball, "Is what we will be using. The rules are also relatively simple, on the surface: the players on each team can use any part of their body, except their arms and hands," he dropped the ball and kicked it up into his knee, then up to his head, but he missed and it smacked him square in the face.

Playful snickered "Will we be required to use our face too or us that one optional?"

"Oh Playful Heart don't you think you've been hit in your head enough in your lifetime?" Cheer asked to which he pulled down his eyelid and stuck out his tongue.

"I can be goalie. Just for the record," Lotsa Heart voiced.

"That was my plan," Brave Heart had a hand over his face, "and yes the face is technically legal. And on that topic the goalie is the only player on either side who can use their hands in the game. Winning is simple too, kick the ball into the opponent's goal to score points, the most points at the end wins. In the case of a draw each player gets one shot on the opponents net and the most goals win. There is no contact in the game whatsoever and such fouls are met with free shots by the victim on their opponent's net."

"Sounds simple enough to me," Share agreed.

"There are a few more rules, such as the strategy and the position and roles of each player, but we will be learning the history of each sport as well, from how they were conceived to where each sport is most popular," Brave Heart picked up the soccer ball, "We will also be learning basketball, baseball, American football, wrestling and hockey when winter comes around. Now we will have to mix and merge some classes for actual games with some sports."

"What do you mean by 'American' football?" Share asked.

"Well soccer is called football in most countries outside North America, because you use your foot on the ball for most of the game and because the American version of football is much harder to set up and play," Brave Heart replied.

"Who knows, one of us may turn out to be an all-star athlete. Then we can stop being care bears and make millions of dollars."

Lotsa Heart actually seemed amused by Playful Heart's suggestion, "I could get my face on a cereal box...hmmm Lotsa O's." Brave Heart just rolled his eyes.

"Umm, will we all have to wrestle?" Gentle Heart asked.

"I'm with her on this one." Cheer agreed. "That one is a little too rough for me." Hands on hips she addressed Brave Heart, "And what about cheerleaders?"

"What about them?" Brave Heart asked making her scoff

"Hello! It's a sport!"

"Well if enough people want it then we can add Gymnastics to the classes as well, that's as far as I'm willing to compromise. In most sports you should keep your mouth shut because talking while your exercising wastes energy and can give you a stitch in your side," Brave Heart replied.

"Gymnastics sounds like fun," Playful managed to sit up.

Lotsa shook his head, "I think I'll stick with wrestling, and that's the truth."

Period 3 saw the boys in health class. "If she tells me to put a condom on a banana I am so out of here." Grumpy announced.

Champ nodded in agreement, "And Loyal why do you have to take this class?"

"Because we all have to and it would not be fair if I missed this class just because I am married to the teacher," Loyal Heart replied.

"That is correct, and Sex-ed is not the only thing we will be studying," Proud Heart entered the class, wearing the old-fashioned teacher's dress she had purchased, "though True Heart and Noble Heart have requested that it be our first item of discussion. I don't think I need to tell you why."

"I'd prefer you didn't. Tell us why I mean," Champ agreed.

Proud Heart sighed, "Well I won't go into it, but a big part of the reason is that I'm hoping it will be the shortest session so we can move on to the other, more important sessions of the class."

"What other sessions are those?" Snowy asked.

"Well health is not just a healthy and safe sex life. We will be learning about nutritional health, emotional health and career and occupational health," Proud Heart replied, becoming more relaxed now that the subject had moved on from sex.

Grumpy seemed to perk up at that. "I've heard sleep is *yawn* a healthy part of anyone's life." Bedtime voiced.

"It is, Bedtime, and we will be discussing that as part of this class," Proud Heart replied.

"Why are we going to be learning about careers, Proud Heart?" Snowy asked.

"Yea I thought we were all set in that department," Champ said.

"Because we have to help people, and Noble and True Heart are hoping that we can help older teens and young adults with more than just daily problems," Proud Heart said. "In order for us to help people find and choose their own career paths in life we should learn about what we will be advising them on. And even though our job is to help humans we might not necessarily want to do this forever, some of you might like to pursue careers of your own on earth someday."

"That does make sense," Snowy agreed.

"What else would we do? I mean they are fine with us down there doing our job. But I don't know how they would feel with us down there all the time," Grumpy said.

"Well we'll just have to find out," Proud Heart said, "now let's get this started so we can move on from Sex-ed." The cat sighed as she turned around and began to write on the chalk board.

"She's not going to talk about what you two do at home, right?" Champ asked.

"Please, Champ, our personal lives are not a part of this class," Loyal Heart blushed in irritation as he replied.

Bedtime had been tuning in and out during the discussion and now gazed at the blackboard. What he saw made him fall out of his chair and yelp. "Proud Heart those are girl parts!"

"Please, let's just get this unpleasant business over with," Proud Heart sighed, "You only have to see it once, I have to do this three more times."

"What else do we have to know? Once every 28 days you guys go crazy and we can't say anything right." Champ teased and getting the desired chuckle from the other guys.

"Well I was going to start on something more pleasant, but since the menstrual cycle seems to have your interest we'll start there," Proud Heart scowled, turning back to her class, eliciting groans from all of them, even Loyal Heart.

In Tenderheart's Math class Swift Heart was feeling like she had been lobotomized. It never failed: math came up and her brain flat lined.

"And further more when we get into pre-calculus uses of the sin cosine and tangent equations will. Be more relevant," Tenderheart concluded.

"I thought math just dealt with numbers, what's with all the words?" Valiant asked, slumped forwards on his desk, no more engaged that Swift Heart.

"Well letters in algebra are for variables, I have no idea what this sin and cosine stuff is," Friend replied.

"This class is a sin," Swift Heart grumbled.

Tenderheart contained his smart comment, "They are trigonomic functions used to determine unknown angles and side lengths in triangles. Architects use them a lot. And contractors."

"Umm, are we really going to start with this stuff? It seems pretty advanced," Birthday asked.

Tenderheart shook his head. "No no no. I'm just giving you all a general outline of our year. We'll be starting with algebra. Or in Swift Hearts case long division and just PEMDAS in general," she sneered at him making him chuckle.

"Alright then, so just lessons now?" Valiant asked.

Tenderheart wrote an equation on the board. "Alright start with this. If you need help just raise your hand."

Never before had anyone seen a class bolt so fast out of the room when the bell rang.

"It's safe to say that I think Share and I won't be moving to the bed anytime soon," Snowy said, shivering slightly.

"I'm going to have nightmares about tampons going to war with pads I just know it," Grumpy grumbled.

Champ nodded, "I think I get why Cheer is so...unpleasant now."

"Trust me, it does get more unpleasant if you live with them, but you get used to it," Loyal Heart sighed.

As Tenderheart's class left, Friend snickered, "I think Tenderheart has a boyfriend, he didn't flinch at any of your comments, Swift Heart."

"I know. It's so weird. I was using some of my best snarkyness on him and, nothing," she shook her head in disbelief.

"How do you know it'sssss a boyfriend and not a girlfriend?" Cozy Heart asked.

"Simple, I'm homosexual too so I can tell. Just trust me on this," Friend replied.

"How does that even work?" Birthday asked.

"I can't explain it, it's just a thing," Friend replied.

"Plus he's so anal there is no way he's straight," Swift Heart agreed.

Brithday snickered and then spotted Champ's group, calling to them, "Hi guys, how was health class."

"I don't want to talk about it," Snowy said, walking past the group.

"Ssssoundssss like you guyssss had asss much fun asss Sssswifty did," Cozy said jokingly.

"Easy there periodic table," Swift Heart shot back while inching close to Grumpy.

"So Tenderheart's math class was just as dull for you, sports fans?" Champ asked.

The rabbit shrugged, "I mean I'm not one to talk. I hate math. Like for real hate it. But for a math class...it wasn't unbearable."

"Health class was." Gripping her hand briefly Grumpy kissed her. "I will not be sad when we move on from sex ed."

Funshine giggled. "Wow. Proud Heart has you guys scared."

"Due to a remark by Champ, my wife decided to spend the class educating us on the female mentrual cycle," Loyal Heart replied.

"It's not my-" Champ was cut off by Snowy.

"Yes it was. Next time keep your mouth shut, for all our sakes."

Gripping her sides Swift Heart doubled over in laughter. "Hahahaha oh you poor things." Scowling Grumpy moved away from her slightly.

"Bet you guys will never make wise cracks about us being moody ever again," Funshine commented.

"Yes, and Share and I will be moving even more slowly than we were before," Snowy replied.

"I'm almost afraid to go to her class now," Valiant Heart gulped.

"At least we have gym next, that should be fun," Champ said.

"Lucky. We don't have it till the end of tomorrow," Swift Heart said having recovered from her laughing fit.

Cozy Heart didn't seem to mind, "At leassst we get to go home afterwardsss. Ssstraight to my own ssshower."

"We have history with Noble Heart next," Birthday added in."

"It should be interesting. Noble Heart has been around forever," Funshine stated.

"Well catch ya later," Champ called as they headed off for the gym.

-

"So Julian, are you excited to learn how to cook?" Grateful Heart asked her brother as their group headed for Illusion's house.

"OI suppose. Nevah really thought OI needed to before. How bout you sis? You excited ta make googly eyed at yer beau fer an entire class period?"

Gloria giggled, "Maybe, but I'm really excited to learn how to cook. It takes forever to get Illy let me do anything in the kitchen. And you need it more than anyone, big brother," Gloria shot back, smiling.

"Oy! Chef Boyardee 'as been foine fer me so far." Jolly countered. "Soides, even with tha class OI doubt Etienne 'll let ya do anythin."

"I know, I lived with mom long enough to find that out, and we'll see," Gloria replied.

"I can't wait either, I've wanted to learn how to cook something better," Love-a-Lot said. Secret just smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically as well.

"I just hope Illusion and I don't get into an argument. We tend to when we cook together." Treat Heart voiced.

Jolly slapped his head, "That's roit! Yer a regular bakin goddess. Why are you takin this class then?"

Treat Heart sighed, "I need the distraction."

"Still miss him don't you?" Love-a-Lot asked.

"I don't know what you mean!" Treat Heart tried to play it off but Love-a-Lot's knowing glance made her falter, "Yeah. I do."

"I miss him too," Gloria sighed, "For different reasons but still."

"Not surprising sis. You an he were cut from the same cloth ey? He's yer best mate. Everyone needs one."

Secret put a hand on Grateful's should and did her best to try and reassure her.

"Maybe I'll see him again someday, but let's not dwell. We're here," Gloria smiled as she darted around the water in front of Illusion's house for once and headed for the door.

He was awaiting them in the entrance hall with a rack of aprons next to him, "Bonjour ma chere. How'd I know you'd be de first one in?" He asked her with a grin.

"Because you know me so well," She gave Illusion a peck on the cheek as she grabbed an apron and did it up at the back. Secret got in next and wordlessly grabbed her own apron.

"G'day mate. How's it hangin?" Jolly called to his friend.

"Not so bad frer. You doin good?"

"Ta. OI'm roit aces."

Illusion's grin faltered, "We not makin yo' merde pasta in de can."

Jolly's ever present smile faltered, "Bugger."

"You can't coast through this, Jolly," Love-a-Lot said, giving him a smirk as she grabbed the last apron, "So what are we starting with today, Illusion?"

"Fettucini alfredo. Pasta jus 'bout de easiest an cheapest ting you can cook." Beckoning with his fingers he brought them back to the kitchen. There were a few stations set up on the counters. "I figure you can work in groups an take turns doin tings. At least fo' de easy recipes."

"There's five of us, so... is someone working alone?" Love-a-Lot asked.

He shook his head. "Non chere. Do one o' two an de other three. I be movin between you to help so no worries," Jolly chuckled at his friends use of his catch phrase.

"Well I'll work with my brother and Secret, if that's alright," Grateful said. Secret just nodded, agreeing with her.

Treat Heart smiled at Love-a-Lot, "You okay with that?"

The pink bear nodded. "It gives us more time to talk about Renegade." Treat Heart blushed.

"Alright frers, first up set de pot o' water to boil. If you like you can add some salt to it but dat preference. Once de water is at a boil we'll add de noodles." Holding up a box he made a face, "Fo' now we be usin ready made pasta but eventually I be teachin you to make yo' own."

Secret had already started filling her group's pot by the time Illusion held up the box. Gratful watched her, "So just one of us fills it then?" she asked for clarification.

"You tink she need help liftin a pot chere, den go ahead," He teased. "We will be makin' our own sauce today too do so you can start on dat while de water boils. Grate de parmesean an romano cheeses. Do as much as you want." Lookin over at Treat Heart he saw she was already through with that step and was helping Love-a-Lot to measure out cream and butter. Trying not to scowl he handed his girlfriend a cheese grater.

Grateful nodded as she began grating, "What kind of sauce is this? Tomato?"

"Alfredo. That means its white and creamy and cheesy and wonderful!" Treat Heart called over from her station.

Jolly licked his bill. "Croikey that sounds aces." He nudged his sister, "Put in lotsa chees in ours love."

"I plan on it," Grateful nodded.

Secret, meanwhile, was just staring at the pot on the stove and tapping her foot. Sliding up behind her Illusion placed a sauce pan in her hand. "Take dis an put de cream an butter in dere. Heat it an stir in de cheese till it gets nice an thick. Got it?"

Secret nodded, and set the pan on the stove. She glared over at Jolly, who hadn't moved to do anything helpful. He was in fact stabbing pieces of cheese with uncooked noodles and making dinosaur noises. Illusion seeing this chuckled, "Don sweat it mon petite. He can do de pasta watch when it goes in. An you can always have him clean up."

"Sounds perfect for him," Grateful giggled.

Love-a-Lot was watching the sauce that was now cooking as she spoke, "So how are you feeling, Treat?" she asked.

"Confused mostly. I mean I always enjoyed Renegade's company but as a friend mostly. Then when he wasn't around, I just felt different. Like something was missing," Treat replied.

"Sounds like you care about him as more than just a friend," Love-a-Lot replied, stirring the sauce to make sure it didn't burn.

"You would know," she responded, "But it sounds like I won't be seeing him again so it hardly matters." Seeing their water was boiling she dumped the pasta in.

For once, Love-a-Lot didn't have a real response. She did her best to say something, "Don't give up hope," was all she managed.

"I'll try," she smiled and stole some cheese to eat.

"There, that should be good," Grateful looked at the small mountain of cheese she had grated, "So now what? Just add it to the sauce?" she asked.

Coming over Illusion gripped her hands, helping her to cup them around the cheese. "Allow me to assist." Slowly he moved her hands till they hovered over the pan and released them so they dropped the cheese in the sauce.

Next thing he knew an oven mitt was hitting his head, "Oy! No flirting with yer sheila! It's no fair." Jolly informed him.

Sneering at him Illusion replied, "You see whatever it us you wanna see homme. I jus helpin her is all."

"That's right, Julian," Grateful added, "so how much should I stir this?" she asked.

"Jus till it thickens." Looking over his shoulder he called, "Treat Heart ma belle. Can you at leas' pretend dat you listenin to what I say?"

"When we graduate from college level meals yes I will," She called back. Her and Love-a-Lot's pasta was boiling contently on the stove and their sauce was cooling.

Secret had dumped the pasta in some time ago and she was stirring with a spaghetti scooper. She gestured to the pot and made wild gestures.

"Are you asking how to know when it's done?" Grateful asked. Secret nodded.

"Take a noodle out an test it. If it feel limp enough fo' you den you can strain it." He gestured to the collander in the sink. "Jolly I tink you can handle dat an addin de sauce to de noodles."

He nodded. "Jus loike-"

"You say boyardee an I fillet'n you wid mah knife," Illusion threatened.

"Hopefully you'll stop relying on canned goods after this," Grateful sighed. Secret lifted a small amount of noodles and shook her head, letting them drop back in to the pot.

"Hey. OI loike sushi well enough ya know. Got moi sheila ta thank fer that," Jolly informed them.

"Maybe we can learn how to make that, but still you should learn to cook. I remember what mom and I ended up eating most of the time," Gloria said.

He shrugged, "That's cause mum had her hands full with tha critters an' OI was with moi mates most of tha toime."

"No worries homme. I be teachin you tings dat don take long an can be re-heated de next day."

"See, you won't have to put that much more time into food," Gloria teased her brother.

"You can make it the day before and then use your microwave to heat it real fast." Love-a-Lot told him from the other station.

Treat Heart flinched, "Uhoh, wrong button there Love-a-Lot."

Illusion had already made his way over to them. "You do not use de microwave to warm up mah meals. Dey are not tv dinners."

"But we aren't you Illusion. You should make it easy for us." Gloria told him gently.

Sighing he nodded, "I suppose you right chere."

The groups spent another 20 minutes, or so, on their food before mixing the pasta and sauce together.

"Alright class. Bon appetite." He held out forks to them and they dug in.

"This is bonza! Well done sis an' secret!" Jolly hurriedly ate another mouthful making Secret laugh.

Illusion was trying both of the groups and grinned at Treat Heart. "I'm glad you chose to add black pepper to yours. Always liked mah food to have a little kick to it."

"Yes I know." She took her own forkful. "Thanks for teaching us this Illusion."

"Mah pleasure. Don forget to clean up yo stations an' i see you in 2 days." Sitting next to Gloria he took some more of their pasta.

"Thanks for the class, Illy," Grateful gave Illusion a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Kinda de point of school ma belle. But I don' mind doin it," Chucking her under the chin he took his plate over the sink and began washing it.

"Well it was nice anyway, can't wait for the next class, but I guess the day is over now. What are you going to do?" she asked, moving to rinse off her own plate.

He grinned down at her, "I fin' myself free for de afternoon. If you wanted to do somethin."

"Well, we could go for a nice swim," Gloria suggested, smiling.

"Soun good to me. Let me get dem outta here and den we can change," Moving from the sink he let his tail glide across her leg as he turned. Gloria shivered and sighed, then grinned before moving to grab the school bag she had brought with her. Jolly finished washing the dishes for his group and hurried off to wait outside Cozy Heart's last class for her. Illusion had let them out 10 minutes early, seeing no reason to hold them behind when they had finished their lesson. Secret and Love-a-Lot headed back to Care-a-Lot together leaving Treat Heart to make her way home alone.

Grateful had slipped into Illusion's bathroom while they others were leaving and dug through her bag, "I have to thank the teachers for giving me Illusion's class at the end of every other day," she giggled.

Illusion too retreated to his bedroom and changed into his bathing suit. Feeling cold in the house he called to Gloria, "I meet you outside chere. I need a little sun."

"Coming," Gloria emerged from the bathroom wearing a lavender bikini and smiling as she headed for the front door. "How do I look?"

"Belle." He assured her. Out in the sun he faced upward and sighed, "Glad de first day is over. Even do I only had deux classes."

"Well we'll all manage. With any luck this will help everyone and it won't last too long," she gave Illusion a kiss before dropping into the water in front of his house. Diving in after her he began to swim along the bottom. Gloria moved to swim just above him, following him through the electroreceptors in her bill.

Looking up at her he rolled over onto his back. Lifting his mouth to hers he kissed her gently. "Yo' firs day was good?" Gloria nodded and smiled, floating down a putting her arms around him. Following suit he let his arms fall around her back. His tail swung from side to side propelling them through the water.

Gloria managed to guide them up to the surface, gaining a much needed breath. "I love how you and Julian expanded the water here," she said, giving him a kiss.

"It was necessary. De rainbow river is nice an all, but we both used to havin de water right outside our doors. An dis way we can have water dats all de same color. It messes wid yo' eyes after awhile when de colors keep switchin on ya," Illusion admitted.

"And it's nice to have water that just sits still so you don't end up a kilometer downstream after a while," Gloria added.

"Dat too." Floating on his back easily he ran his fingers over her exposed back. Gloria shuddered and her hands snuck under the water, running along the shallow ridges on his back.

His chest rumbled with pleasure and he kissed her gently. "You been doin okay wid out Renegade?"

"I miss him, he was a good friend," Gloria rested her head on his toned chest, "But I'm not taking it as bad as Treat. I'm not as crushed about that as I am about Fauna..." Gloria sighed.

A deep sigh escaped his mouth. "Oui. None o us takin dat well. It jus hard to imagine she really gone. I opened mah fridge today an wondered why I had so many steaks." He closed his eyes briefly before continuing. "Forgot when I was buying dem dat no one was gonna steal dem so I din' need de extra."

"Maybe we can use those for a barbecue wake, or some sort of memory celebration for her some day after the first simester ends, around christmas," Gloria suggested. She kissed him again and once again her hands ran along his back ridges, "But let's not dwell on sad stuff for now."

"When you do dat cher, I feel everytin but _triste,_" Etienne murmured while rubbing his nose against hers.

"Good, cause I'm not stoppin," Gloria pressed harder as she rubbed her bill back and kissed him softly. For the moment he was very content to hold Gloria on top of himself and kiss her slowly and sweetly. His hands rested on the small of her back and his tail worked to keep them morning.

"I love you Illy," Gloria murmured.

"_Je t'aime aussi. Plus encore, puis j'ai jamais cru possible." _He smirked at her before kissing her again. Illusion was sure she could feel his heart speeding up at what he had just admitted.

Gloria giggled and blushed, "Does that mean what I think it means?" she asked.

"It means I love you too." He paused to kiss her first on one cheek then the other, "More den I ever tought possible. You made me see a whole notha side of mah self."

"Oh my, thank you Illy," Gloria kissed him deeply, her hands pressing hard into his ridges as she stroked up and down. Feeling his tail hit sand Etienne slowly tilted his body, making sure Gloria didn't slide off. When his feet were firmly planted on the ground he began kissing her more forcibly. Grateful Heart responded in kind, her hands moving up to his face and running over his scales.

Snickering he asked, "You sure you can love a col' blooded reptile like me?"

"Can you love a weird chimera of a mammal like me?" Gloria quipped back.

"Easy as breathin chere," hands on her hips he resumed kissing her.

"Then there's your answer," she added. Her hands once again went to stroke his back ridges.


	2. School Arc, Part 2

Chapter 2

On the second day of school class group B, the one of all boys, left Illusions cooking class chowing down on their waffle sandwiches. "This is going to be awesome! Breakfast first thing every other day? Can't complain about that sports fans." Champ stated happily.

"I must agree, and it will be nice to be able to cook something for Proud Heart," Loyal Heart swallowed the last of his sandwich.

"We have Defiant's class next, language and grammar," Snowy was reading their class schedule as he ate.

Grumpy rolled his eyes. "Yeah that won't be boring at all." He still wasn't on good terms with the badger after the way he treated Swift Heart. It didn't matter how mad he was, you never slapped girls in the face. Period. Finishing his waffle he stole a piece of bacon from Bedtime Bear. The nocturnal guardian was nursing a cup of coffee, trying his best to stay awake.

"You might want to resolve things with Defiant before it gets too severe," Snowy spoke up.

"You might want to mind your own business," Grumpy retorted, "You're telling me if Share were treated that way you would be all hunky dory with it?"

"That's not an entirely accurate example, Grumpy, there's a double standard for that. But what do you expect being angry at Defiant will bring in the long run?" Snowy asked.

"I don't agree with what Defiant did, but Snowy has a point. You should not let this fester until it comes out at a very inappropriate moment," Loyal Heart added.

"Point of order on Grumpy's behalf. His name is Grumpy bear and he's never been one to spew forth forgiveness."

Grumpy folded his arms and nodded in agreement with Champ's statement, "And I'm not going to do anything to him. I'm just not really acknowledging him until I can do so without punching him.

"Well good luck if you can't do well in his class then," Snowy sighed.

"And how long will that take, or would you like him to break a few limbs first?" Loyal Heart asked.

Turning to the dog Grumpy scowled, "Again, it's not anyone's buisness but mine. You guys can't tell me how to feel. Besides, do you really think now is the time to be making me mad? In case you hadn't noticed I haven't been emotionally sound lately."

Shoving Loyal Heart with his shoulder he moved past him and walked a few feet ahead of his group. "You guys shouldn't *yawn* be making him mad. He's been strong for Swift Heart but he's been hurting," Bedtime informed them.

"I have noticed, despite what you all think my world is not focused on my wife, I do notice things. But if something doesn't resolve things between him and Defiant then things will only get worse and I do not wish to see something tear our family apart again," Loyal Heart didn't wait for a reply but moved on.

"This is going to be a long school year," Snowy sighed.

Champ nodded, "Maybe if he finally gets laid he'll feel better." Bedtime gave a sleepy chuckle and the group arrived at Defiant's classroom.

Defiant was sitting at his desk and he nodded at each of the group as they entered the class. When Bedtime entered he asked, "How are you handling the shift to a day schedule, Bedtime?"

"I'm adjusting. Coffee is a big help and I'm trying to go to bed earlier. Also I've been napping." He gave Defiant a thumbs up and sat at a desk with his coffee mug.

"As long as you don't spill it you should be fine," Defiant said as he got up, "Well welcome to language and grammar class then. Now I need a good idea of where you all are so I'd like you to write a little one or two page essay on whatever you want. Just pick a topic and write about it. As I'm sure you can see you each have a computer at your desk and there should be a profile for each of you on there in a community network. I suggest you create a password as all your friends have done as well."

"So everyone is using these?" Snowy looked at the profile list, seeing one for every member of the family was there, including himself.

"Why do we need these?" Champ asked. "I mean aren't we just writing and stuff in here?"

"If you want then you can write by hand but most writing is done on computers these days and to be honest it will be easier than trying to decipher some of your handwriting," Defiant said, "Not to mention it's easier to edit and change things and much less wasteful."

"Makes sense to me dude." Champ began to type in his password. Grumpy had completed this already and was pulling up the word program. He began to type his essay ignoring the chatter around him.

"Can we write something fictional?" Snowy asked.

"If you wish, but it might be easier to just write something about something you know, even something about a TV show or web series you watch," Defiant answered. Snowy nodded and began typing.

Bedtime was taking his time typing his essay. Looking over at his friends screen Champ laughed. Bedtime had chosen to write about why tempur pedic mattresses were better than clouds. "You would know buddy."

"You'd be surprised how much you find out when sleeping," Bedtime just smiled back.

Completing his essay before anyone else Grumpy asked, "Are we sending it to your account or printing it and handing it in?"

"It's your choice, I'd prefer you just transferred it to my submission profile in your documents," Defiant replied.

Saving his document he did just that. "What did you write yours on Grumpy?"

"Don't worry about it." He told Champ. Glaring he returned his attention to his own essay on the greatest football players in history.

Once Loyal Heart finished his own writing and sent it in the raisedhis hand, "So now what should we do?"

"Well, while I'm looking over your essays feel free to socialise, this shouldn't take too long," Defiant answered.

"Awesome." Pulling up a web browser Grumpy went to his favorite car part website and began to look at the new arrivals.

Defian just rolled his eyes, "At least Bright Heart fixed the internet connection." He began going over the turned in essays.

Champ too was surfing the web. "Hey guys! Look a monster truck rally! We should totally go Check this out!"

"Not really my thing," Snowy Heart said, he was just sitting at his computer waiting for Defiant to finish.

"I'm up for it." Grumpy told him.

Bedtime nodded, "Me too. If it's at night I am so in."

"Nice. I'll tell the other guys too." Champ told them before getting the full information.

"I will have to pass, sorry," Loyal apologized.

"You guys don't know what you're missing. It's totally awesome seeing large monster trucks painted awesomely tear little pipsqueak cars apart." Champ told him.

Grumpy was bored now and twirled a pencil through his fingers. "How much longer is he going to be?"

"I'm almost done, just give me a moment," Defiant replied. Champ folded up a paper football to pass the time. Looking at Snowy he flicked it at him.

Snowy flinched when the ball hit him, "Hey."

"Oh relax Snowy, it's paper," Champ formed the goal with his fingers, "Now try to spike it through here."

Snowy just shrugged and flicked it back almost lazily, passing it through the finger goal with ease. "Years of archery," he told a surprised Champ.

"Alright, the grading is done," Defiant said. "Loyal Heart your spelling is good but your grammar and punctuation needs some work. Champ you need a lot of work on most everything. Snowy you need to work on spelling for longer words. Bedtime you need a little work on most of your stuff. Grumpy you just need to work on sentence structure but otherwise you're fine."

"Glad we got that figured out." Grumpy responded.

Champ smirked at Defiant, "Looks like you have your work cut out for us Defiant," Leaning back he folded his arms behind his head.

"To be fair, Champ, you're not the worst I've seen. Lotsa has the most trouble thus far but I haven't had Jolly, Grateful, Secret, Treat Heart or Love-a-lot yet. But yes I do have a fair amount cut out for me so we might as well start right now." Defiant reached into the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out five identical paperback books, "I know you've probably read this but we're going to start a unit with 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. After we finish that unit we'll move on to a free choice unit, where you'll each be allowed to choose a book to read and study."

"Sounds fair enough. I actually haven't read this one before." Bedtime informed him. He was sitting up a little straighter, trying to keep from falling asleep.

"It's a good one," Grumpy told him.

"I haven't read it either," Snowy said.

"I haven't finished it, but what I read was good," Loyal Heart added as they each took one of the books.

"Good, well I'd like you to read the first five chapters by the end of the week," Defiant said, "tomorrow I'll give you your first assignment sheets and you'll have two weeks to finish them, so don't feel the need to read and finish everything at once."

Bedtime chuckled, "Don't worry about that. I never rush at anything."

"Yeah we know," Grumpy grumbled at him.

"Sooooo can we go?" Champ asked hopefully.

"I'd rather you spend the rest of the class reading, but if you want to do it outside then go ahead. No one else will be out of class until their class ends in about 25 minutes." Defiant sat back. The boys, reluctantly opened their books to page 1 and began. Grumpy flipped straight to the back and read the last chapter first. Even though he had read it already, he read all books this way. He never had cared for surprise endings so he liked knowing what he was getting himself into.

The class finally let out and the group got out and headed out. "This is really a fascinating book," Snowy commented, his nose still stuck in To Kill a Mockingbird as he walked out of the class.

"Hey Grumpy? Should we stop him from walking into something?"

"Nah Champ. If he's that into it who are we to stop him. Besides. Someone should enjoy it."

Champ nodded at Grumpy, "Got that right man. I am so not a reading fan." Bedtime merely shuffled along beside them.

"I think I'll save the book for when I get home, if Proud Heart doesn't need my help tonight," Loyal Heart said, "We have Bright Heart for science next."

Grumpy groaned once more. "Don't I spend enough time listening to him." He had escaped questioning on the Rainbow rescue beam this long and was hoping to keep it that way.

"We all have to put up with it, though we can team up with anyone for the projects later," Snowy said.

"Are you going to team up with Swift Heart?" Loyal Heart asked Grumpy.

"I have a feeling I won't have any say in the matter." He replied with a small smile. "I'll probably end up doing the whole thing."

"She might surprise you, Grumpy," Loyal Heart said, "She might have some ideas of her own, something in science class might grab her."

Grumpy looked skeptical. "She called me once because her garbage disposal was making a funny noise and shooting sparks. I pulled a fork out of it."

"Perhaps," Loyal Heart nodded, "I heard she was very into chemistry."

"Yeah she likes the science stuff alright. And she's all but addicted to medical dramas." He cringed, "I can't even count how many times I've had to see someone spurting blood all over the floor. Plus she and Fauna used to...never mind." He looked away instead of finishing. Instead he asked, "You know who you want to pair up with?"

"I'm not sure yet," Loyal Heat said, "but we should hurry before the bell rings."

-

"I can't wait to see what Noble Heart's going to teach us," Share said as she skipped towards Noble Heart's history class.

"You seem excited," Playful said.

"Of course, I love learning about history," Share giggled.

"It doesn't hurt that he's been around forever. I'm sure a lot of what he is going to teach us he has seen first-hand." Cheer quipped. She was checking her appearance in her hand held as they walked.

"I don't think he's been around that long," Gentle Heart said as they approached the class.

Lotsa Heart was munching on some grapes from a bag. "But he does know his stuff. His book collection is huge! And they are all historical novels."

"Well let's stop chatting and see what he has," Playful darted into the classroom.

The classroom itself wasn't too different from what one would call a normal high school classroom, save for the bookshelves that lined one of the walls, filled with the books that Lotsa Heart had mentioned. Noble Heart was sitting at the desk in front of the classroom and he smiled as the group entered the class. "Good to see you all found your way here on time."

Wish smiled at him as she took a seat in the front row. "Share made sure of that. She's been waiting all day for this class."

"And that's the truth." Lotsa Heart agreed.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that someone is enthusiastic about this class," Noble Heart stood up and began to write something on the chalkboard.

The group sat and waited respectfully for him to finish. He wasn't like the other teachers. They had always seen Noble Heart as a father figure and wouldn't put him through the ringer. "Did True Heart not want to teach a full class?" Cheer asked him.

"No, she doesn't want to leave Hugs and tugs for too long so we agreed that she would be the best to tutor Terra Heart with braille and other specific things she'll need to know," Noble Heart finally finished what he had written on the board.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it

Noble Heart put the chalk down, "Those words were said by George Santayana and that's the reason we study history. Learning from mistakes is the best way to avoid making them but not everyone will experience everything before they move on in life so we study history to learn from both the mistakes and successes that others have made, no matter how small or large of a scale they might be."

"So we are only going to be studying the mistakes of the world?" Cheer asked, a little unsure of what Noble was saying. "Cause that's totally going to bum me out."

Noble Heart chuckled, "Not just the mistakes, but often it's easier to learn what not to do than to figure out why something works so well."

"So where are we starting?" Share asked.

"Yeah I'd say we have our fair share of starting points to choose from," Lotsa Heart agreed.

"Good, because I decided that I don't have a main cirriculum to follow. We have several points we can start at, so I'm going to have each class vote to decide where we start, in the case of any ties we will pare down the fields and vote again and if that's not possible then we'll start with the earliest historical setting." Noble Heart began to write on the board, making the list of the starting points.

Early human history  
Ancient Empires  
The rise and fall of the Roman Empire  
The Dark Ages  
The Middle Ages  
The Renaissance  
The conquest of the new world  
Eastern Imperialism  
The birth of America  
The Great War  
The second World War  
Recent History

"I would prefer to start at the beginning but we have so much to cover that I'll let you decide," Noble Heart said as he finished.

"Do we have to learn all of that so quickly?" Gentle Heart asked.

Noble Heart chuckled, "No, of course not. We'll study each section in depth then move on to the next subject but I may have to pull things back in order to keep things from being too confusing. Now if each of you will write down where you want us to start studying I'll come and check, remember this is where you think we should start, not what you want to study the most."

Cheer and Wish both wrote down Ancient Empires. Lotsa Heart took a little longer staring at the list. He wasn't sure when some of these eras were. Finally deciding on the Dark Ages he wrote that down. Guidance wrote Early Human History, Playful wrote down the Renaissance and Share added her own Ancient Empires vote to the pile.

Noble Heart collected the six papers and nodded, "At least you have more consensus here, with three votes for ancient empires, one for Early Human history, one for the renaissance and one for the dark ages. So we'll start with Ancient Empires, such as the Greeks, Egyptians and Persian empires. After that we'll move on to Early Human History and then move forwards in chronological order."

"Are we going to have lots of projects in here?" Wish asked. "Not that I'm complaining! I was hoping actually. I like doing research after all." She smiled as she said the last bit.

"We will but like with Bright Heart's class you'll have a bit more freedom to choose how you do them, such as dioramas or sculptures of areas or events or even just simple reports for those less artistically inclined. Just ask if what you want to do is acceptable at each project and I'll let you know if you can," Noble Heart said.

"So, what do we do now?" Gentle Heart asked.

"Well we might as well start, just get out your paper and pens and write down the notes. We'll start with the Egyptians," Noble Heart began writing on the chalkboard.

When the bell rang at the end of the period Noble Hearts class was sorry it had. They were fascinated by the way Noble Heart talked about Egyptian culture. Wish could almost picture herself back then. Outside the room she shouldered up to Lotsa Heart, "I can't wait till we have this class again."

Lotsa nodded, "That's for sure. Were you happy with it Share?"

Share smiled, "Definitely."

"It's kinda of harsh, what happened in ancient Egypt I mean," Gentle Heart said.

"Aww, well don't worry it's all over now," Playful reassured her.

"It kind of just happened. Hunters and Pegasus ya know? What they couldn't enslave they wanted to destroy." Cheer voiced. "But yea, that's over too."

"Well let's not dwell on it, we have Tenderheart's math class next," Playful said.

Cheer grinned, "Super! Who doesn't like numbers! I do, on pricetags of course!"

"Of course," Playful rolled his eyes.

-

"So, music class," Snowy Heart said, "Any thoughts?" he asked the other four in his group.

"If I hear the words 'Boy Bands' leave her mouth, I'm running for the door," Grumpy informed them.

"I agree," Champ nodded.

"As do I," Loyal Heart said.

"I just hope it's interesting," Snowy Heart said as they approached Harmony's house.

Music was floating out through the windows and Harmonys open door. "That doesn't sound like pop music to me." Bedtime said. Champ too looked surprised. Entering the house they saw chairs set up in Harmony's living room.

Harmony was tuning her guitar. "Hey boys. Take a seat I'll be with you in a sec."

"I admit, I am feeling better about this class now," Loyal Heart whispered to Bedtime as they all took a seat.

"Alright guys, I'll keep it real with you. I know how everyone up here thinks musically. So no one's class is going to be like someone else's. Just like no music genre is like any other." Sliding her fingers along the strings she played a short chord. "I thought you guys would dig learning to play some instruments, and then learn to play some of the greatest anthems of all music time." Holding her last note she smiled at them. "How does that sound?"

"That does sound fun," Snowy said.

"How many instruments do you have, Harmony?" Loyal Heart asked.

"So glad you asked." Pointing with her finger she beckoned them to follow. She led them to her garage door that connected to her house. "I keep them all out here." Turning on the light she put on display her 5 guitars, acoustic and electric, 4 bass guitars, a drum set, and a collection of typical symphony and orchestra instruments. "You guys can borrow one for class hours to learn on, but they don't leave my house. Go ahead. Check them out."

Grumpy went straight for the pretty emerald green drum set. It was covered in band stickers. "Harmony this is sick!"

"I know. I own it."

Snowy went for a piccolo, "This seems like something I would like."

"Do you have any suggestions for me?" Loyal Heart asked, staring at the rather staggering array of instruments.

Grabbing a silver trumpet off the wall she handed it to him. "Blow this horn. I think you'll like its vibe."

"Sweet a Gibson." Champ took down the purple electric guitar.

"I know you know a little Champ." He nodded to Harmony and plucked at the strings. Bedtime was admiring a keyboard in the corner. Loyal Heart took the trumpet and gave it a test. Snowy blew on his piccolo a bit, listening to the note that came forth.

Harmony winced since both were slightly off pitch. "Alright lets head back to my living room. Everyone grab your new toys." Going to the drums she helped Grumpy disassemble it and carry it inside.

"May I ask, what purpose does learning music have?" Loyal Heart asked, as he sat in Harmony's living room.

"Lots of things." Sitting on a stool she continued to strum her guitar as she listed the pros of music playing. "You get to express creativity. Music is an art, and through art we can show our innermost emotions. Playing an instrument is a good way to take your stress away. And learning how to play helps in other areas too. Memorization, strategy for studying, and concentration." Her fingers picked up the pace and she closed her eyes, grooving to her tune.

Bedtime sighed loudly, "Brave Heart is one lucky guy." Grumpy and Champ looked at him startled.

"Definately," Snowy agreed with Bedtime.

"That does make a lot of sense," Loyal nodded. "Will anyone be singing in this class?"

Harmony nodded, "Sure man. If you feel the need to express yourself vocally then go right ahead. Tell my why the caged bird sings." She clenched her fist and grinned at him. "I want this class to be all about self-expression, finding your inner voice. I am so not going to be harping on what you can and cannot do."

"Well I can't sing," Loyal Heart said. Before any encouragement could be given he just sighed, "the last time I tried to sing Trust to sleep, he starting crying harder and Proud Heart had to take over," his cheeks reddened as he averted his eyes from the others.

"Alot of people sing even though they can't. I mean look at half the artists out there today." Feeling her temper rise Harmony took a moment to compose herself before she went off ranting on the occurrences of lip synching and autotune. "Anyway if you don't want to you don't have to." Looking to the others she asked, "Any other takers?"

Bedtime smiled at her, "I wouldn't be opposed to learning singing."

"I might like to try," Snowy admitted.

Harmony applauded them "Awesome. For now let's get you started on these beauties. We'll start vocal exercises next week." Looking at Grumpy she asked, "Will you be singing too." His folded arms and scowl was answer enough for her. "All right guys here we go." She handed each of them sheets with finger placement and a few basic notes to practice for their instruments. "Look these over for 10 and then I'll help you out."

Loyal Heart regarded the three buttons on his trumpet then looked over at the many more on Snowy's piccolo. "Is my instrument limited on notes?" he asked.

Harmony shook her head. "No. You have a brass instrument. Snowy has a woodwind. In brass, it's all about your lips." She puckered hers in demonstration. "The looser the lower the notes. The tighter, the higher."

"I see," Loyal Heart turned back to his instruction sheet.

"So that means you Snowy my dear have a lot more finger combos to remember. Plus you'll have to master angling your air through that hole," she tapped the mouth piece with her nail.

"Alright," Snowy pressed a few of the key and covered some of the holes but didn't try to blow again yet.

Champ was doing fine running his scales so she left him for the moment to go to Grumpy. "Alright so each drum has its own line on the score." She showed him the different ones and which drum they corresponded with. "Just get used to hitting each one for now and make up a few of your own rhythms."

"That I can do." He began beating away.

Eventually the day came to an end and Noble Heart decided to call everyone to the Hall of Hearts for a meeting and assessment of how their days were going.

Once everyone had assembled he quieted everyone down and spoke up, "So, now that everyone's gone to each of the classes we set up, how do you feel about school?"

"It wasn't as arduous as I thought it would be." Wish bear announced, while sending a smile at Defiant. "I learned that word in Grammer class."

Friend nodded, "I for one was pleasantly surprised by how well prepared our teachers were."

"Well we made sure to be. Now I just wanted to convene to explain how school is going to be. You will alternate the classes you have in the same order you have these last two days and you will have every Friday, Saturday and Sunday off," Noble Heart explained.

A couple shouts of joy were heard until Tenderheart spoke up, "We're only doing four half days a week because we still have a job to do. We're not going to stop being Care Bears just because we're in school."

"So that means you will continue to go on missions in the down time when you are asked too. There will no longer be any excuses." Brave Heart added. "We have all, myself included, let our personal lives effect our job. That can't happen anymore." murmurs of agreement sounded through his family members.

"Now since there were no major homework assignments today, unless there's an emergency everyone is free to do as they wish," True Heart said.

Almost immediately everyone began to find their social groups and plan out what their next moves would be. Funshine found Playful and latched onto his arm. "You survived! I was so worried your ADD would kick in and your head would implode," she told him teasingly.

"Aww, you were worried about me," Playful giggled and kissed her.

"Not worried worried. Just concerned," she replied. "You ready to get out of here?"

"You bet, let's get out and have some fun," he grabbed her hand and they bounded out of the hall.

Jolly instantly sought out Illusion. "What'dya say mate? Kill any leftovas ya have an watch our shows?"

"Oui homme. I like dat plan. I tink I managed to save a good amoun o' frostin from mah one groups devil food cake."

His face lit up, "Bonza!" Turning to Cozy he called, "Later sheila." Cozy waved a quick goodbye to him before she left with Gentle Heart and Treat Heart.

Brave Heart sought out Harmony quickly, "We're lucky, our classes don't give out much gradable homework," he said, giving the purple bear a kiss.

"That's for sure." Facing him she draped her arms around his neck, "How exactly would you assign do at home aerobics that you can then grade them on the next day?"

"Tis true," Brave Heart nodded, "How about we go and catch a movie? I heard that the new OZ movie is pretty good."

"I think that sounds tight." She gave him a kiss and pulled away to grip his hand, "Just us two or should we make this a double date?"

"Who did you have in mind?" Brave Heart asked.

"Oh I dunno. Anyone really. If you'd prefer to keep it just us I am totally cool with that, chilled to the bone in fact." Harmony told him giving his hand a squeeze.

"Good, cause I think we need some time alone," Brave Heart kissed her as he led her out of the hall.

Swift Heart smiled at the two. She was so glad they were doing so well. Brave Heart deserved to have a high point in his life. "You still crushing on the lion?" Champ asked her.

"Oh yeah you know it. I am so jealous I'm about to poison Harmony's water supply." Resting her hand delicately against her chin she pretended to look him up and down, "Although I am a sucker for the dumb jock type as well."

Champ played along and flexed his muscle, "Yeah well who wouldn't."

Cheer however wasn't having it and pushed Champ away. "Come on honey, we're going to be late."

"Late for what?"

"Just go. Bye Swift Heart."

Swift Heart laughed and called, "Oh relax Cheer, we were just messing around."

"Just be careful she doesn't get jealous," Grumpy said, walking over to join Swift Heart.

She shrugged, "If she's that insecure it's not my problem. Besides everyone else knows I save all my threats for girls interested in you. How was music class?"

"I won't be singing Bye Bye Bye anytime soon so can't complain." A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth, "Harmony is letting me learn on her drums."

"Oh cool! The green ones with all the band stickers?"

"Yup."

"Very cool." She got to her feet. "What are you doing with your afternoon off?"

"I dunno, did you have anything in mind?" Grumpy asked, moving behind Swift Heart and putting his arms around her.

"Just want to visit Fauna real quick. Let her know how the first days went." Swift Heart rested her arms over top of Grumpy's and flattened her ears so they weren't in his face. "But something tells me that you have something in mind for us." Turning her head slightly she kissed him gently.

"Well we have all evening off, once we visit her we could just pick up some pizza and curl up in your rabbit hole and relax until we drift off. Maybe watch a movie or two," Grumpy suggested.

"Perfect as always. Tell me the truth, you're psychic right?" She rested her head against his. "That's exactly how I want to spend today."

"Only with you," he kissed her cheek, "let's go say hi to Fauna."

Meanwhile in the Falls, Renegade was about to begin his shaman training. White Fang stood with him at one of the pools the Falls formed. Above their heads the waters roared loudly as they crashed down on the rocks of Pearl Head Mountains. "Alright kinderlach, step one to shaman training is cleansing yourself of negative traces. This includes strange magic." He pointed to the waterfalls, "These flow from the top of the tallest peak in our home and are the purest sources of water in our home. To cleanse yourself you must fly through all five of them. It will hurt, the water will pound down on you but it is necessary to be ready for the complicated spells and rituals you are about to learn. Got it?'

Renegade gulped then took a deep breath, "I got it. I guess we'll find out if I'm ready." He spread his wings and flapped, lifting off the ground. He took one more deep breath and flew forwards right at the first of the falls.

"You'll feel the pureness of that water as strange magic. Don't fight it. Let it in," he yelled up at his young apprentice. Indeed, Renegade felt the strange energy pouring on him as he struck the water. He felt an urge to run, or at least resist but he took his teacher's advice and let down his guard without slowing down, breaking through the first fall and going straight for the next

"That a boy! You got it! Relax your mind and do some self-reflection. Figure out why you want this." He called next.

'I want this because I want to find purpose,' He thought as he struck the next waterfall. This time the feeling was more intense and he felt as if it would overwhelm him but he pushed through, letting the energy flow into him without resistance once again.

White Fang watched as he went towards through the third one, "Think about what you have to do to accomplich this. Being a shaman means dealing with the nagging questions of the others. I can't even tell you how many times I've been asked for a love potion or one to make someone's coat shinier. Are you ready to hear out every request no matter how stupid?"

"I am!" Renegade actually shouted aloud as he flew through the fall.

"Most of all however, you must be ready to serve our king in anyway he may require. We along with the other shamans are his magical assets and we take this as a huge honor. Are you prepared to declare your loyalty to our king?"

"Always, now more than ever," the memory of Fauna's sacrifice flashed in his mind. 'I'll do anything to help him now,' he thought.

As Renegade flew through the last waterfall he came to land in front of White Fang once more. The older pegasus nodded at him "Good, he needs us more than ever." Smiling as water dripped off the soaked Renegade he asked, "How do you feel?"

"Umm, wet, and kind of funny, like an old weight lifted from my spirit," Renegade shivered a bit.

He slapped him with a wing, "Good. You should feel like a blank slate. And now we get you dried off and start some basic spell work."

Renegade smiled, "Good idea. Thanks for teaching me Grandsire."

"Well it's not like they have a book on this stuff." He told him. "Plus all the other shamans are shmucks! I've been doing this the longest."

"Shmucks?" Renegade tilted his head sideways.

"It just means they are fools, in my opinion." He translated for him. "They think they can do things on their own. They don't need me."

"Sounds like Fauna," Renegade couldn't help but smile, "I'll be strong for this, but I'm going to go borrow a towel from blue to dry off first. Where should I meet you when I'm dry?"

White Fang actually snorted when Renegade compared the other Shamans to his sister. "Pah! Your sister actually didn't need anyone. She wasn't delusional. You can meet me at Sunflower Meadow." He pointed his nose in the direction he was heading.

"No she wasn't, a lot reminds me of her though. I'll check on Blue when I'm there then meet you at the meadow," he added before taking off towards the royal caves.

White Fang headed off, ignoring the looks he was getting. "What? You think I never leave my igloo? You all are a bunch of yentas!" He scolded a group of mares nearby. They look affronted but said nothing. Looking pleased with himself he continued on.

Renegade landed in front of the royal cave and nodded to the guards, "May I enter?" he asked.

They nodded to him. "Be advised the King is home. But it's been quiet in there." Toadstool told him. He seemed worried.

"I'm not surprised," Renegade took a deep breath and trotted into the caves.

He hadn't been lying. Blue was nowhere to be seen in the main cave or in the cave to the left that held the modern human amenities he and Fauna had brought in.

Renegade searched around but stepped towards the human amenities cave. One set of complicated shifting later he was dry and he could hear shouting coming from somewhere in the back. Now in his pegasus form again he trotted closer. "Blue?"

The Kingsire's voice was coming from The Spirit Chamber, meaning only two people were on the receiving end of the yelling. As Renegade came to the chamber he saw Blue facing off with the deities. Daybreak and Nightshade were looking somber as Blue stood before them. His eyes were glowing and his magic was shooting off his body in emotional fireworks.

"YOU KNEW! HOW COULD YOU KNOW AND NOT TELL ME!" He bellowed making the walls vibrate.

Daybreak winced "As we've said, we aren't permitted to-"

Blue cut him off, "Nightshade is dead! You watched a castle crumble and fall on her and you know she isn't able to survive it. Your heart is gone! Then you hear I knew all along but did nothing to help her! Tell me you wouldn't be reacting just like me!"

Night Shade watched in surprise as her mate, the god of the Pegasus, flattened his ears in submission to the young king. Clearly Blue's speech had affected him. "I am sorry Blue. We both wish the rules could be different. It was not certain Fauna would be lost, it was just a possibility."

Blue was panting, "You should have told me." He wasn't letting this go.

Night Shade spoke up, "All we can offer you is our condolences and our sorrow at your loss. We cannot say we would have done anything differently. I am sorry." The two exchanged a look before leaving.

"Cowards! Useless cowards! Thats all you are!" Blue yelled after them.

"I'm guessing this is a bad time," Renegade said, backing out of the room.

Seeing the movement Blue looked to the entrance way, "What? Do you need something?" He snapped at Renegade.

"I just needed to borrow a towel. I already used it and left it to dry off," Renegade replied.

"Good. In case you missed all of that, they knew Fauna was going to die." Blue told him, voice still angry. He moved past Renegade.

"I noticed," Renegade said. "This is awkward," he added under his breath.

Stopping he glared over his shoulder at Renegade. "If you hadn't just let yourself in it wouldn't be awkward."

"Right, I'll leave then," Renegade trotted past Blue on the way out of the cave.

"And tell Toadstool and Kingblade my door is no longer open. They have to check with me before admitting anyone." He barked after him.

"I don't think I need to tell them," he sighed as he left the cave, nodding to the two guards. "But yeah, don't let anyone in without telling the Kingsire." Renegade spread his wings and took off.

White Fang was rolling on his back in the sunflowers when Renegade returned. "I'd forgotten how nice being warm could be," he mused aloud. Renegade nodded but said nothing as he landed.

Tilting his head back he gazed at his apprentice, "Oy what now? What did Blue say to make you look like a raincloud is dumping water on you?"

"He was yelling at Daybreak and Nightshade when I came in, then he snapped at me because I didn't ask to come in then said that his guards can't let anyone in without his permission," Renegade said. "I think just seeing me reminds him too much of Fauna so I doubt he'll want to see me again, ever."

"I'm sure that's part of it." Rolling over he tucked his legs under us body but made no move to stand. "But he's been acting that way towards his mishpucha too. And you're telling me he'll never want to see Frosty, Red Snout, or Thunder again? Ever?"

"Probably not, but they don't look like Fauna," Renegade shook his head, "but I don't want to dwell on this now. At the very least he needs time to cool off before I talk him again."

"Always the best way to approach his temper. Now come lay here and forget it. First step to Shaman training is meditation. A busy mind is a mind not ready for spell casting."

"I need a clear mind now more than ever," Renegade said, moving to sit across from White Fang.

White Fang nodded in agreement. "It's very simple. You close your eyes and take a deep breath." He demonstrated. "As you exhale send any negative thoughts and feelings with it. Do this until you feel calm. Then just let your mind drift away, don't try to think on anything."

Renegade nodded and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and exhaling, trying to push out the feelings of failure he felt about losing Fauna. It would be hard but he'd do this, no matter how hard it was.


	3. School Arc, Part 3

Chapter 3

Proud Heart was sitting at her desk in class, watching Champ, Snowy, Bedtime, Grumpy and Loyal Heart working on the assignment sheet she passed out about budgeting. Champ was smiling about something and it was really irritating Grumpy.

"How on earth is this amusing?"

"Cause sports fan. I just realized Cheer spends the same amount on beauty products that a family of four uses on food. And she always says my sport equipment was a waste of money." Grumpy actually laughed at that.

"An interesting discovery," Loyal Heart mused.

"I just realized I spend too much on ice cream," Snowy said, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Well when your girlfriend is Share Bear I'd say that's not surprising." Grumpy told him.

Bedtime was looking confused, "According to this I should be rich. I don't spend on anything."

Champ glanced at his friend's paper. "Bedtime you didn't even factor in your recreational stuff. You have to do something while the rest of us are sleeping."

"Oh yeah." Taking his paper back he began filling in more stuff.

"I am curious as to what you spend your nights doing," Proud Heart admitted from her desk.

"Just stuff. A little stargazing, figuring out the astronomical positioning of the planets in relation to the other constellations and how that factors into the earth's axil tilt." He rattled off the description as if it were nothing. "Oh and I like to draw."

Grumpy felt his mouth drop open, "What did you just say?"

"You certainly do a lot more than most of us thought," Loyal Heart said.

He chuckled, "You guys didn't really think I chose night shift just because I'm a night owl did you? The sky is amazing when it's all lit up like that."

"Honestly dude I thought you were just lazy." Champ confided in him.

Bedtime just laughed, "I am. So that's fair."

"Well, how are your budget sheets coming?" Proud Heart asked.

"I've finished," Loyal Heart turned his paper over and sat back.

"How did you finish so fast?" Grumpy scowled at him.

"It helps when you have to budget for a real family," Loyal Heart replied.

"Foul! Unfair advantage!" Champ held up his hands in protest.

"Champ calm down. It's just like how you are better at football then us: outside experience." He accepted Grumpy's reasoning with a pout. Thinking of something he grinned, "Well what if you get that second kid you want. I think you should have to redo it to factor in for them."

"This is a budget for a family of four," Loyal Heart said.

"I'm finished," Snowy said.

"Me too. Don't know when I'll be needing this but there it is." Grumpy too handed in his work sheet.

"You never know, Grumpy," Proud Heart said, turning to watch Champ and Bedtime.

"I'm done too. And Bedtime is just redoing the last bit," Champ told her as he handed his in.

"Yeah Proud Heart just give me 2 more minutes."

"It's fine, there's five minutes till the bell," Proud Heart began checking the tests she had received.

Grumpy scooted his chair closer to Loyal Heart, "So you really don't mind all this...family marriage stuff?"

"I admit that it took some getting used to but I do love it," Loyal Heart replied.

"If you say so. I couldn't imagine being tied down now." Grumpy responded.

"Finished," Bedtime held up his worksheet.

"It is a bit soon, if you can you should wait," Loyal Heart advised.

"We would have waited if I hadn't gotten pregnant," Proud Heart added from her spot at the desk.

"Well it's a good thing you will be teaching us all about birth control then." Champ said. "After all we don't need any more little kids running around what with Hugs and Tugs."

"Most of the things I have are for girls. And you said you knew how to use a condom when I gave you that little quiz at the end of our sex-ed course," Proud Heart smirked at Champ.

Champ sat straighter and folded his arms. "I'd say the fact Cheer isn't knocked up can attest to that." He smiled back at Proud Heart. Grumpy made a face.

"I'd like to make a jab at you but I'm above that, Champ," Proud Heart turned her head back to grading the papers.

"Well done teacher Proud Heart. I'm very Proud of you." Champ told her with a wink.

"Can this bell ring already?" Grumpy groaned.

As if responding to his wish, the bell sounded. "Well class is over, I'll see you all later," Proud Heart said. Bedtime handed in his paper before ehading otu with Snowy, Grumpy and Champ.

Loyal Heart lingered and approached the desk, leaning over on it, "Well, milady, how does being a teacher suit you?" he asked.

Proud Heart giggled, "It suits me just fine, dear." She gave Loyal a kiss on the nose over the desk.

"That's good to hear. You're not taking it easy on me I hope," Loyal said.

"Not here I'm not," Proud Heart stood up and met Loyal on the other side of the desk. Embracing him she gave her husband a deep kiss.

Seeing Proud Heart's next class on the way, Grumpy warned them, "You guys are figuring budgets out today."

"I wonder what kind of worth my stuff has," Playful mused as he entered, then giggled at the sight of Loyal and Proud kissing.

"I thought we weren't supposed to be kissing during school hours." Cheer called to the couple looking cross. "Wasn't that why we weren't allowed to be with our boyfriends?"

"Loyal isn't my boyfriend, he's my husband," Proud Heart replied. Loyal Heart detached from her and left, smiling. "And there's no rule about not kissing during school hours, just not during actual classes, and class hasn't begun yet."

Cheer didn't look amused, "I still don't think it's fair."

"Careful Cheer. Your fur is looking a little green." Lotsa Heart told her while moving to his seat. Not understanding the reference she hurriedly checked her arms.

"I'm green," Wish sounded indignant, "and so is Gentle Heart."

"Lotsa means you sound jealous," Share sighed as she took her own seat.

Playful Heart chuckled, "Who'd have thought you were the smart one in the room."

Lotsa Heart smiled at him, "I know right?"

"Well do you want to start now, or wait the tenminutes for the bell to ring?" Proud Heart asked her class.

"I'm fine with what anyone else wants," Gentle said.

Lotsa Heart held out one of the extra cupcakes they had just made in Illusions class. "Give us a little break. Here try this."

"At least you didn't start a fire," Playful said.

Wish just sighed, "I told everyone was I sorry, and it was just the burner."

Proud Heart took the offered treat and mmmed as she bit into it, "What did Illusion say about that?" she asked Wish.

"He was actually pretty cool about it. He told her that he's started a few kitchen fires of his own." Cheer told her. "He even showed us the burn scar on his wrist from one."

"I didn't think scales could scar," Playful admitted.

"Do I look like the crocodile hunter? How should I know!" Cheer retorted. "Maybe you should have asked him about it. I'm sure he's the expert."

"Isn't he an alligator?" Gentle asked.

"Let's not start arguing," Proud Heart sighed from her desk a hand on her forehead.

Cheer had made a frustrated noise and thrown her hands up in defeat all the same. "I was making a point! You cousins take things far too literally!"

Wish cleared her throat, "Maybe we should get started a little early."

"Yes, let's," Proud Heart stood up, "Today we're learning about budgeting. Do you all know what a budget is?" Proud Heart asked.

"How you spend your money?" Share asked back.

"Sort of. A budget is a plan of how you're going to spend money based on your income, how much you put aside for food, entertainment, cosmetics, travel, or just savings for emergencies or later dates," Proud Heart replied.

Why bother with a budget? I've done just fine spending on whatever I felt the need to spend on. And honestly, Champ buys a lot of stuff for me. And I don't ask him! He offers!" Cheer hurriedly added on the end part.

"That may be fine for now, and I admit that we have it easier thanks to that whole doll license deal we have with the toy companies, but a budget helps you plan ahead so you're never caught by an unexpected expense, or if you are you don't go into a panic," Proud Heart explained.

Thinking of the members of her family prone to panic, Wish Bear giggled, "And we wouldn't want that."

"No we wouldn't," Proud Heart took a pile of paper form her desk and started passing them out, "here are some standard budget breakdowns for bachelors, couples, and families of various sizes. And here is a worksheet for you to check your own budget, or that of your significant other if you know how they spend their own allowance, or you two spend it together."

Looking over the worksheet Playful asked Lotsa, "Would whoopie cushions be a recreational expense or an employment expense for me?"

Lotsa considered it for a moment. "Whichever category you have less in?" Playful seemed to like this idea and quickly scribbled it into a category.

Gentle Heart was comparing the example sheet to what she was writingt down. "Should I be worried if my food expenses are different from most bachelors?" she asked.

"Only if you think your weight is a problem," Proud Heart replied, "It might have to do with the brands you buy as well."

"Yeah it totally depends on what you buy Gentle. You shouldn't freak because you aren't like the 'norm'" Cheer put air quotes around the word.

"You would know," Playful snickered.

"I know. I'm better." She tossed her hair and sent him a superior smile. Looking at her own sheet once more she paled, "Huh. I spend as much on my beauty stuff as a family of four does on food."

"Well you know Cheer, it's all about the brands." Share offered with a smile making Cheer laugh. Proud Heart sighed but smiled, leaning back in her chair.

And that brings us to our next point..." Noble Heart moved on in the front of the room. Out of the corner of her eye, Swift Heart saw Cozy's head drooping. She must really be tired if she was dozing off during class. As silently as she could, Swift Heart tossed a small ball of paper at her friend. Cozy sat up startled and looked at Swift Heart for an explanation.

"You okay?" she mouthed at her.

"Yeah late night Jolly date." She replied.

Accepting it Swift turned to face Noble who was staring right at her. Her ears drooped, "Sorry Noble. Go on about the Dark ages or whatever."

Noble glanced at Cozy, noting that she seemed tired, before turning back to his board. "The fall of the Western Roman Empire left europe is dissarray. While some were happy to be free of their control the back of a central power meant that the barbarians that had rampaged throughout the region had no opposition..."

Funshine raised her hand, "Why does it seem like all people did back then was fight? Have they never heard of having a conversation? Or just engaging in a good old water balloon fight?"

"Well, a lot of it was language differences and the lack of resources." Noble Heart explained, "Few people spoke more than a single language well and education was very hard for the masses to receive, not to mention the barbarians want to plunder the rich lands of the Romans for themselves. Another problem was the whole racist attitudes that humans had back then, every person thought of anyone that didn't look like them as an other that was inferior to them, or superior if they had been born into slavery."

"Humans. No wonder they need us." Swift Heart scoffed while shaking her head.

Rather than glare, Noble Heart just sighed and nodded, "Yes, Swift Heart, that's exactly why they need us. Humans have made a lot of mistakes and they still do, and the more we learn about their past the more we can help them avoid these problems in the future."

"If you don't understand history, you are doomed to repeat it." Birthday bear quoted.

"That certainly seems to be the case," Valiant nodded, writing down some notes about the class.

"Good to see you're absorbing this so well," Noble Heart smiled.

"There's a lot of spongy cake under all this frosting." Birthday told his teacher while tapping his head. The statement made Swift Heart really want a cupcake.

Noble Heart laughed, "Good to know. Cozy Heart, are you alright?" Noble Heart turned to the penguin, who was close to dozing off again.

"Hmm?" blinking rapidly she nodded. "Ssssorry Noble. I jusssst didn't ssssleep well lassst night. I'll tell Jolly we have to end our date nightsss earlier on sssschool nightsss."

"That would be a good idea. If it's a problem then maybe avoid dates until the weekend when you're both free," Noble Heart suggested, "but when this class is over you should get some sleep. Don't worry I don't have any assignments tonight."

She smiled in gratitude at him. Swift Heart looked her over from head to toe as something dawned on her. She opted to wait and talk to Cozy about it after class. The whole class didn't need to be made aware she was wearing the same thing as yesterday.

"Now then. The term dark ages refers to the limited access to knowledge due to the loss of the Roman libraries, but there were monks at the time who devoted all of their lives to copying books by hand, since the printing press would not be invented for hundreds of years..."

Friend was diligently taking notes in the front row and Funshine was copying off her, not being able to follow Noble Heart on her own. Valiant was copying notes too; he briefly paused and thought about asking something, but decided against it before going back to notes.

Not soon enough for some the bell rang, ending the day of classes. "Walk home with me?" Cozy looked over at the very close Swift Heart and nodded. Grinning Swift Heart linked her arms through Cozy's and the two headed out of Noble's house.

Noble watched them go, a look of concern on his face, until Friend came up to him.

"Noble, can you help me with something?" she asked.

Noble Heart smiled, "Of course, what did you need help with Friend?"

When they were far enough out of the others earshot Swift Heart asked, "So can I assume you no longer hold your membership to the V club?" Her heart was pounding as she waited for Cozy's answer. Something about her best friend taking this big step without her made everything in her life feel a little more real.

Cozy shook her head and Swift Heart felt the relief all the way down to her cotton tail. "No I do. Jolly took me ice sssskating lassst night and I fell asssleep with him." Seeing Swift Heart's relief she giggled, "Believe me. When that happensss you'll be the firssst to know."

"Likewise. Who knows, maybe we can convince Grumpy and Jolly to coordinate so we get our cards punched at the same time."

Hahahah I can't imagine why they would ssssay no."

"So you really just didn't sleep well?"

Cozy nodded, "Yea. Jolly'ssss houssse isss way too warm. I wasss tossssing and turning."

Swift Heart nodded in understanding. "Maybe we should figure out a solution to him freezing and you boiling in case anymore sleepovers happen." Cozy nodded in agreement.

Over in the Falls White Fang had taken Renegade to the savannah region to practice some of the spells he'd been taught. It was open here and any misfires would cause very little or any damage. White Fang was sitting in his bear form under the shade of a tree and eating moonberries. He chewed his mouthful as he watched Renegade practice. "Remember, pronunciation is key. You say one thing wrong and the spell is useless."

Renegade nodded, "Is it possible to accidentally cast a wrong spell that way?' Renegade asked.

The shaman scoffed, "Does the sun rise in the east? Of course you can! I've seen a pegasus melt half his tail off when he was trying to change the color of the leaves in his nest." Trying to throw a berry in his mouth he missed and it bounced off his nose, making him grumble. Renegade nodded and took a deep breath as he began speaking the words for the illumination spell.

Leaves on the tree above White Fangs head slowly began to twinkle with light. The spots flickered on and off, growing more steady each time. "There you go kinderlach. Keep it up."

Renegade concentrated and released the last of the spell, looking up at the now glowing leaves. "Wow…"

Admiring the tree briefly the polar bear shrugged. "Meh I suppose that will do. Now make it go away."

"Alright," Renegade began speaking the words to cancel out the spell.

As he worked a small group of pegasus came hurtling out of the sky. Landing in front of White Fang one of them began to speak hurridley "White Fang you are needed. Someone has set a spell and it is causing havoc."

He scowled, "No other shaman is available? I'm training my apprentice."

Another one shook their head, "They've all tried."

"Fine I'm coming." Shifting he called to Renegade, "Come on. My expertise is needed."

Renegade managed to diffuse his spell without causing any effects. "Guess the leaves will have to glow for a bit," he said as she spread his wings and took off with White Fang.

As they flew White Fang informed Renegade, "It's like I told you. My fellow Shamans know bupkes. No spell any of the other pegasus put together should give them this sort of trouble. I bet they are just being lazy."

"Certainly seems that way," Renegade nodded, "So where is the spell?"

"We are almost there." The original pegasus who had spoken told him.

White Fang saw they were on the edge of the desert region. Bouncing around on the ground were what looked like giant glowing worms. "Thats it? A light manipulation spell?" White Fang sounded more than a little annoyed. Landing he lifted a hoof to squash a worm.

"No!" Their guide tried to warn him but it was too late. As soon as his hoof hit the worm it exploded into three new worms.

White Fang whinnied in pain as some of the light sizzled up his leg. "Someone has alot of chutzpah! Putting a trap like that in there! Those shmendricks better hope I never find them." Looking at the other worms, he saw they were converging on him. "Oy!" Hovering over the earth he began to formulate a spell to take care of them. "Renegade do nothing." He called to him. Because of the direction he was facing, White Fang couldn't see the group of pegasus who were leaving the area and snickering amongst themselves.

Renegade turned and spotted the group, his gaze turned back and forth between them and White Fang. "I hope he meant about the spell," he whispered to himself, increasing his flying height and shifting into an Eagle to keep an eye on the retreating group.

"Once again you were right Red Snout. You knew that old coot wouldn't be able to resist a spell that none of the others could fix."

The roan smirked at his companion. "And I'm sure they wouldn't have been able to, if we'd bothered to ask them. He'll be occupied for at least 2 hours, so let's get to the arctic and do what we need to."

The group snickered. "You definitely got some of your brother's deviousness."

Red Snout rolled his eyes, "We're related, it's not that shocking."

Renegade recognized Red Snout among the group but couldn't hear anything they were saying. He checked back to make sure that White Fang wasn't having any trouble before deciding to follow the group to see what they were up to.

Reaching the arctic the group headed for White Fang's igloo. Red Snout walked the perimeter, looking it over. "Alright, who has the salt bag?"

An orange Pegasus stepped forward and dropped the bag. "So all we have to do is sprinkle this on the outside. It'll melt the ice slowly and the igloo will just crumble."

"And White Fang won't know it's there?" Red Snout shook his head. Exchanging looks of glee the group stepped forward to grab some salt.

Renegade still had his eye on the group and while he couldn't make out what they were saying he spotted the white stuff coming out of the bag. "Can't be more snow," he said aloud, "I should stop them but how?" Renegade's mind was made up as he saw Red Snout about to take the first load of salt he took a deep breath and dive-bombed towards the group. Taking a gamble he shifted his form into that of an albatross as he neared the group, feeling the wind resistance increase and slow him just enough to snatch the bag around the neck and yank it up from the ground. He did his best to ignore the pain from the sudden shift during the fall as he flew away from White Fang's igloo.

"What was that?"

"Who was that is more like it?"

Red Snout ignored the two and gained his wolf form. "Who cares. They have our bag." Running after Renegade he attempted to get underneath him so he could use his magic to knock the bag from his talons. His friends stayed behind, their animal forms not exactly land friendly. Before using his magic, Red Snout yelped a warning at the albatross, "Give that back!"

"No, Red Snout!" Renegade shot back, knowing that he would recognize the voice. "What are you doing with this, salt?" he looked down briefly to see the small trickle of salt pouring from the bag from the not quite sealed neck

Red Snout snarled, "Its none of your business Renegade!' He shot a ball of red magic at Renegade's tail.

It took everything Renegade had to avoid the shot, unfortunately dropping closer to Red Snout, "It is if you're going to destroy White Fang's home. You have no idea what he keeps in there."

"Oh don't be so dramatic. It's only going to melt the outside." With a pump of his hind legs he leapt, teeth gripping the salt bag and dragged it and Renegade to the ground. Renegade landed with a thud and shifted to his white wolf form. He whirled around and grabbed the bag with his teeth to keep Red Snout from escaping with it.

Snarling he tugged on the bag, not letting go. "You don't know who you're messing with Renegade." Red Snout said around his mouthful of burlap.

"You're right, but I won't let you hurt White Fang," Renegade dug his feet into the snow to hold on harder.

Red Snout jerked his head from side to side, trying to shake him off. Both were failing to notice the holes appearing in the fabric. "It's salt. Not lava."

"Do you even know what salt can-" Renegade was cut off by an audible tearing noise as the bag split open, dumping its contents onto the snow between the two of them.

Seeing the salt grains scatter Red Snout spat the bag out, "Why do you even care? He's just some old guy teaching you a few new tricks."

"He's not just some old guy and these aren't just tricks. I'm learning to be a shaman and I care about White Fang, he's kind and understanding and he's like a grandsire to me. Why are you even bothering him? He's never done anything to you. And who were you with just now?" Renegade asked back.

"He is not your grandsire. He is merely tolerating you. He feels sorry for you because you have no real family left." Turning he began to walk away, "And let's just say I've decided to make some new friends. Word of advice Renegade, not even family lasts forever."

"I know Red, but I'm not going to shut away from such things just because I don't want to deal with them. I may be an infant in age but I've learned a lot more than you might think while living here," Renegade shifted back into his Pegasus form, "And I will be telling White Fang what I saw here today and if his home is destroyed when we get back there will be consequences." He flapped his wings and took to the air.

Red Snout smirked, "That's what we're hoping for." Giving a wolfy laugh he returned to his friends.

"I think Thunder and Frosty need to hear about this too, hmm. Frosty should be around here." He turned and flew off towards the white wolves' territory.

Frosty and Thunder were conversing quietly when Renegade found them. Turning as his herd mate approached Frosty asked, "I thought you were off with White Fang?"

"I was but there was an incident," Renegade replied. "Red Snout and this group of pegasus set off some sort of trap spell in the desert then tried to melt White Fang's igloo with salt. I managed to stop them at least but..." he paused.

Thunder swore, "Dammit. That's the third time."

Frosty translated for Ren, "Yeah. Red Snout hasn't been doing good. And instead of talking to us about it he's opted to join up with the less than stellar members of our race. The group likes to cause pain to others just to make themselves feel better."

Renegade groaned, "Just great. He sounded like he was looking for punishment when we parted ways. What do you know about these, I guess humans would call them 'delinquents'?"

"The core are members of the sharks, vipers, and komodos. Every once in a while they drag another one in. They look for those of us who feel abandoned or insignificant."

Thunder nodded in agreement before continuing, "For a while they wanted Sandz and Windz, Red Snouts brothers, but they were never interested. They like causing trouble, and they'll pick fights just for the hell of it."

"Is Red in any kind of danger?" Renegade asked.

"No more than he usually is." Frosty muttered earning him a look from Thunder.

To Renegade he nodded, "Yeah. We think so. As long as he stays with them he'll make enemies of the others. Soon enough he'll piss off someone he can't handle."

"Let's not ignore the fact all those guys hate Blue is king." Frosty added.

"Not to mention he already has an issue with blue for stealing Fauna from him," Renegade looked up at them for a moment, "And Blue is far from being sound of mind right now."

Both of them turned their heads, showing Renegade matching bite marks on their necks. "Red has one too. It was the final straw." Thunder told him.

"Umm what? I've been out of the loop with your guys lately. What happened?" Renegade asked.

Thunder shook his mane so it covered the mark once more. "We went to try and get Blue to cheer up. He wasn't having it though, and you know Red Snout. He told Blue he wasn't the only one to lose her, but we all had to move on. Blue went off on him and the two started to fight and Frosty and I tried to break it up."

"So Blue bit you? Or is this more significant?" Renegade asked.

"Your best friend biting you is pretty significant." Thunder told him, "But yeah it's just a war wound. Blue and Red Snout haven't spoken since."

"Well that's one less worry, sort of. Blue was yelling at Day Break and Night Shade when I last went to see him." Renegade shook his head, "But what can we do about this?"

The two friends sighed, "Blue's family has a history of bad tempers. We need to let him heal in his own time and not push him. Otherwise he pushes back." Frosty told him. It was clear he did not like this plan.

"Not much else we can do. I'd better get back to the desert before White Fang misses me," Renegade spread his wings. "We should probably talk about this more when I'm not busy," he added before winging off.

With a shower of colorful sparks the last glow worm exploded. "Finally! What a waste of an afternoon." White Fang ruffled his wings and recalled his magic. He had gathered quite a few spectators during the process and now he scowled, "What? You yentas never seen me disarm a spell before?"

Renegade landed nearby and watched White Fang's exchange, waiting for the crowd to disperse. They did so quickly, the novelty of watching him destroyed by his demeanor. Seeing Renegade he asked, "I hope you learned something from watching that."

"Sorry, Whtie Fang but I didn't stay to watch. I spotted the ones who did this: it was Red Snout and that group of troublemakers, the sharks, vipers and komodos. They set this up to distract you so they could dump salt on your house," Renegade explained.

To Renegade's surprise White Fang actually began to laugh. "Salt! Hah! That's a first!"

Renegade blinked, "They've done this before?"

The shaman nodded while begining to walk back in the direction of his home. "That group of Macher's? Oh sure. They try every couple of months to make a fool of Pegasus Falls head shaman." White Fang drew himself up looking proud, "I am the one responsible for punishing them more than anyone after all. They're meshugennah for thinking something as simple as salt would work. Stupid putzes."

"Oh," Renegade's head drooped a bit, "I guess I wasted my time then. I should have stuck around to observe."

"Bahhh forget about it. I'm all pheklempt you thought you were defending me." He draped a wing over Renegade's shoulders, "Do this old coot a favor though and don't next time. Not against them. I don't what you mixed in with that."

"I won't. I just hope Red Snout doesn't get in too far over his head," Renegade said.

"You can't worry about it. He isn't your problem." White Fang rolled his eyes, "And his whole family is daffy if you ask me. Not a one of them is all there. Do you know his brothers once dyed the entire council lime green?"

Renegade laughed, "Oh man. That must have been a sight."

Renegade took a deep breath, "I just don't want anything bad to happen to him. He's my friend and with Blue in his current state... I need to stop thinking about this."

"Yea you do. Because frankly I couldn't care less. Now, let's head back to the igloo, grab a nosch, then finish working on your illumination spells." Renegade nodded and flew off with White Fang back to his home.

The next day in Care a Lot Harmony was trying her best not to cringe as Cheer finished her song. She was so unbelievably tone death Harmony wondered if Champ wasn't hard of hearing. "So how'd I do?"

Forcing a smile Harmony told her "You're coming along. We'll keep working on it." Looking to the others practising their scales she asked, "How's it going?"

"Finding my voice, I'm not much of a singer though," Playful grinned. "Gentle's pretty good though."

"Oh, thank you," Gentle smiled, her cheeks reddening.

"Thank the wishing star." She muttered under her breath. "Lotsa Heart you doing okay?"

"Yup! All that shower time is paying off."

Wish nodded emphatically, "it's true!"

Harmony grinned, "You all will be fine. It's all about toning your vocal chords. Practice makes perfect. Let's run a scale." Going to her spot in front of the room she picked up her baton. "Alright. Do-rei-mi! Go!"

Share, Wish, Playful, Gentle, Lotsa and Cheer each took a breath and began to sing the scale. When Cheer hit the "Ti" note, Wish, who was standing right next to her, winced and had to plug her ear as the scale finished.

"You need to practise Cheer," Share commented.

"What are you talking about? I sound just like I always do. Maybe you need to get your ears tuned."

Harmony interceded, "Hate to break it to you girl, but she's right. We need to work on you not going sharp."

Cheer looked flabberghasted "Me? Sharp?"

"That last note you made certainly pricked my ears." Lotsa told her.

"At least you weren't standing next to her," Wish said, finally pulling her finger out of her ear.

"You need to put more force behind your notes Wish, so you really shouldn't be throwing a lot of shade at Cheer." Harmony told her. That seemed to make Cheer cheer up. "And Share, you did really good in the soprano range so I think we'll keep you there."

"Thanks," Share smiled.

"Ooh ooh what about me, or Gentle Heart?" Playful asked, his arm shooting up.

"Playful you can actually be an alto, you did pretty good as well." Her hands went to her hips, "But don't think I didn't notice you changing the words. It's Me, not Pee." She couldn't help but laugh just a little at it though.

Playful snickered for a moment then stopped and thought, "Wait. I thought an alto was a female voice."

"Normally yes. However I couldn't use the Countertenor term for you because you were just a little out of that range. You could be that but I know you can go just a bit higher. Don't freak dude, lots of band lead singers have the same range."

"Not freaking, just confused," Playful put his arms behind his head.

"What range was I in?" Gentle Heart asked.

Harmony tapped her chin, considering, "I think you'd be able to be an alto or low soprano. But you too need more force behind your notes. You and Wish could actually take after Cheer on this one. She may be pitchy but she has the confidence needed to make her notes stand out. Ya dig?"

"O-OK," Gentle Heart replied.

"Fine," Wish said, folding her arms.

Harmony wasn't convinced. "You have a problem with my criticism Wish?"

"I don't think I can learn much from someone as tone deaf as Cheer," Wish replied.

"Oh no," Share put her face in her hand, not wanting to see what would happen next.

Cheer planted her hands on her hips, "Excuse me Wish Bear. But at least people can hear that I'm tone death. When you open your mouth this is all we hear." She began moving her lips but no sound was coming out. "But I guess that's what happens when you spend all your time looking through a star-o-scope and talking to Star Buddies."

"At least I can get close to them without scaring them off," Wish was finally raising her voice, "and staring through that star-scope is an important job, not that you'd know what that is."

Cheer laughed, "Oh please. Question Wish Bear. Who sells more dolls, me or you?" She tugged on her ponytail, straightening it. "I go to earth and make more kids happy in a week then you do all year."

Wish huffed, "Yeah just because-"

"Enough!" Harmony finally spoke up to silence them.

"Yeah this is not sweet music we're making." Lotsa Heart agreed.

"What he said. I want you two to help each other, not tear each other up!" Harmony handed them both some sheet music. "I want you to work on this song for next time. If I hear anything less than harmonizing coming from you I will not be so copasetic."

"I can work with you," Playful offered, "A couple days with me and Funshine and you'll know how to project."

"That's an awesome idea Playful. I approve full heartedly." Harmony gave them a separate song, "I think you all will like this one. I'll let you all out a little early so you can get started on it." Waving her hands she sang, "Class dismissed!"

"Cool, let's get started now shall we?" Playful offered.

"Umm OK, but where?" Gentle asked.

"Let's head to Illusion's and see if we can catch Funshine after her class," Playful giggled.

"Alright," Gentle smiled as she and Playful took off.


	4. School Arc, Part 4

Chapter 4

School had been going on for a few weeks now and the Care Bears were falling into a pattern. It wasn't weird for them anymore to be taught by their friends and they had to admit, True Heart and Noble Heart had a good idea when they thought this up.

In gym class Swift Heart was busy stretching out her legs, a smile spread across her face. That morning Brave Heart had said the magic words, "We are running laps today." Her other classes had made her head spin and a good hard run was exactly what she needed.

"You sure look happy today," Valiant Heart said, doing his own stretches nearby.

"Did you miss what our fearless leader said?" She gracefully hopped from foot to foot, turning a circle around Valiant. "We are running. That's the one thing I can do that requires no brain function at all." She faced the sun and sighed, "I haven't been able to go on a run in a long time."

"Well don't outpace us too much, Swift," Valiant said.

"I wish we didn't have to run," Birthday Bear sighed.

"Your talking to the wrong bear Birthday." Funshine told him with a wink. Tieing her sneakers she checked her sweat band. "I'll stick with you. We can jog a little and take lots of walk breaks."

Cozy joined them. "Don't worry, itssss only for today. Brave Heart isss jussst trying to cheer Ssssswifty up. He doessssn't like to sssee any of the cousssinsss upssset."

"Yeah, I guess we don't really give him enough credit," Friend admitted.

"Where is he anyway? Is he running too?" Funshine asked while looking around.

"Marking the course?" Valiant guessed then shrugged.

"There's a course? Like an obstacle course?" Swift Heart asked. Her ears were trembling in anticipation. "This is so much better than the football unit."

"Says you," Valiant replied.

"Probably, something like that race Beastly snuck into a few years ago," Friend offered.

Swift Heart crossed her arms, "I totally should have won that. Stupid Fur brain."

"I'm surprised he hasn't been snooping around lately," Valiant said. "Well I can live without him. Ugg I remember that incident with the paint in the clouds, took me weeks to grow it out after you guys pulled me out of No-Heart's dungeon."

Cozy giggled, "You sssure were funny looking."

"Yeah. A neon green glow-in-the-dark wolverine," Valiant grumbled, "If I'd had my soul reaper powers back then..."

"Well you didn't but we still got you out," Birthday placed a hand on Valiant's shoulder.

"Okay no more dungeon talk. Are we running today or what?" Funshine and Birthday both groaned in response to Swift Heart.

"Well let's go find out," Friend said, making for the door to the gym to peek outside. Swift Heart ran up beside her and peered out. Just outside the door a few hurdles had been set up, each taller than the last. Brave Heart was finishing adjusting the last one.

"Still feeling confident?" Friend asked.

"Come on. Its like you don't know me At all." She responded.

Spotting them Brave Heart called: "Come on. You gotta get started or else you'll never finish."

No further urging needed Swift Heart ran to Brave Hearts side. "All right coach! What's the course?"

He spoke loud enough for all of them to hear, "Alrighty. Take the hurdles and stay on the path into the forest. Eventually you'll come across a net you have to army crawl under. Run some more and you'll see a log over a pit. Cross that. Finally after another half a mile you'll be at the rainbow river. From there you'll be required to leap frog across. Any questions?"

"How long do we have to finish?" Birthday asked, emerging from the gym.

"Till the end of class." Brave Heart replied. Seeing Swift Hearts face he laughed, "Awe com'on Swifty. I had to give you one obstacle that would be a challenge." he nudged her good naturedly

"Yea Yea."

"What about Cozy?" Friend asked, turning to the penguin, "How good of a jumper are you?" she asked.

"Not good at all."

"If you'd like y'all can swim across," he told them.

"I'll jump," Valiant said, "well might as well get started." The wolverine took off down the start of the obstacle course.

"Oh no! You aren't getting through before me!" Swift Heart shot off in a blue blur.

"Let's get going," Birthday sighed and took off at a slower jog. Friend didn't say anything else but took off ahead of him, though not nearly as fast as Swift Heart or even Valiant Heart.

"Hey Birthday! Wait up!" Funshine scrambled after him. Cozy brought up the rear, running was not her forte.

Valiant was farther ahead of the pack than Swift Heart expected and she slowed down a bit until she was only a couple meters ahead of him.

"Hey, Swift, why are you holdin' back?" Valiant asked while still keeping his pace.

"Just wondering how you got so fast," Swift Heart asked.

"Worried I'll overtake you?" Valiant asked grinning.

Swift Heart laughed aloud, "HA! You wish! but seriously you never liked running before, what happened?"

"Well remember when I had to leave the Kingdom of Caring, before I came back with my soul reaper powers?" Valiant asked.

"Yea I remember." Swift Heart responded.

Valiant took a deeper breath, "Well that guy, Urahara, who trained me to unlock these powers, one of his first tests was getting me to run away from this super-strong creepy girl who was trying to kill me. I had to run out of desperation so I got pretty good at running," Valiant sighed, "Urahara was a harsh taskmaster."

"Running from creepy girls huh? Does Love a Lot know that's how you got faster?"

"She knows, but the girl looked like a ten-year-old. I'm just happy it's over," he looked forwards, "hurtle time!" he said, as they reached the first obstacle.

Swift Heart sped up and sailed easily over the hurdle. She stretched her leg forward and flattened her body over it. Landing she took off for the next-door one, "Not even breaking a sweat." Valiant took the hurtles almost as easily, though he hardly sailed as Swift Heart did.

A cloud car swerved somewhat dangerously as it approached the Kingdom of Caring. Perfect Panda took a deep breath as he managed to come in for a landing, "I really need to ask for more flying lessons," he sighed, finally allowing himself to breathe. Stepping out of the car he checked the trunk to make sure that the suitcase hadn't fallen out before looking around, "Let's see. Tender said to go to the Hall of Hearts and ask for the test when I finally came here. Well I might as well get that over with," he smiled and skipped towards the giant red heart building that wasn't too far from where he had landed.

In his classroom tender heart was looking over the latest set of problems he'd assigned. He couldn't help but groan as Playful once more forgot to carry the 1. "Looks like we can't move on just yet," he informed them.

"Aww why can't I get this?" Playful scratched his head while staring at the sheet that had been returned to him.

You are rushing through the problems. Don't be afraid to check your work as you go along." He looked at Gentle Heart's work as he handed it back to her, "You did good though Gentle."

"Thank you," Gentle Heart smiled.

"Maybe you can help me with this after singing practise, Gentle," Playful said, turning to the lamb.

"If you want," Gentle Heart replied.

"Lotsa Heart you need to work on your handwriting. And Wish you need to go back and check a few of your answers." Tender Heart handed them their papers. Wish sighed as she checked her paper over but said nothing, Lotsa too merely nodded in agreement with Tenderheart. Share and Cheer seemed pleased with their grades.

"Alright guys so I'll write some more practice problems on the board. Work through them and please ask me if you get stuck. We need to master this so we can move on to statistics."

Playful Heart watched as the problems were written on the board, nearly going cross-eyed at one point but shaking his head to focus again.

"You guys can work together. I'm going to step out to grab something from my office but I'll be right back." Closing the door behind him Tenderheart sighed. He was in desperate need of advil.

At the Hall of Hearts, Perfect Panda was in the middle of the same test the other Care Bears had been given before the whole school business.

Noble Heart watched Perfect and finally cleared his throat, getting the panda to look up. "So, Perfect. Why are you moving up here and are you sure it's safe for the valley."

"Positive, And if there's any diminishment in the love aura that keeps the place warm I'm sure it will get stronger once my sister gives birth," Perfect replied before turning back to his test.

Noble Heart smiled, "You didn't answer me as to why though."

Perfect giggled, "You'll see. Just give me a couple minute to finish this."

"Well at least you've thought this through," Proud Heart nodded, "How ae Good Luck and Polite doing."

"They're doing really well, Good Luck is really good at gardening and farming," Perfect replied.

"I guess he really does have a green thumb," Bright Heart chuckled.

Illusion chuckled as well, "Maybe I can convince him to send some stuff up our way. Notin tastes better den fresh veggies." By this point Tender Heart had arrived at the hall. He was getting a work book for Playful Heart that he had left there by mistake. "Hey homme, look who come to join us." Illusion called. Seeing Perfect Tender Heart did a double take "What are you doing here?"

Illusion chuckled as well, "Maybe I can convince him to send some stuff up our way. Notin tastes better den fresh veggies."

By this point Tender Heart had arrived at the hall. He was getting a work book for Playful Heart that he had left there by mistake. "Hey homme, look who come to join us." Illusion called.

Seeing Perfect, Tender Heart did a double take, "What are you doing here?"

"Taking the test, aaaand done!" he handed the test up to Bright Heart before jumping up and darting over to Tenderheart, giving him a big hug and kissing him, "Miss me Tender?" he asked.

Illusion nearly fell out of his chair upon witnessing the display. It was even more surprising when Tender Heart kissed Perfect back. "Well I think that answers my question." Noble Heart quipped.

"Is this a bad time," True Heart had stepped out of the small office where she had been tutoring Terra Heart. "Oh well this is a surprise," she smiled at Tenderheart and Perfect.

"This does explain where Tenderheart kept disappearing to," Proud Heart added.

"Love-a-Lot gonna loose it when she fin' out dat Tender Heart pulled de wool over her eyes." Illusion stated, "Come to tink o' it. Did anyone know 'bout dis?"

"I didn't, but I've heard some of the others saying they suspected Tenderheart was gay," Proud Heart admitted, "Friend even said she knew because she was a lesbian."

"Maybe one of you should go to Tender Heart's class and inform them that class is dismissed for the day," Noble suggested while moving over to his wife.

"I can go, here's his test," Bright Heart passed the paper to Proud Heart.

Proud Heart nodded at the paper. "91. At least we won't have to change the class structures."

"And we won't even have to make a new living space, at least I assume you're moving in with Tenderheart," True Heart said.

Perfect finally broke his kiss with Tenderheart, "Definitely."

While his mouth was free, Bright Heart spoke up, "Is there some reason you're here, Tenderheart?"

He was still kiss drunk and just smiled at Bright Heart. When the raccoon gave him a look he snapped back to attention, "Oh right. Um I came to get a work book with extra practice problems for Playful Heart." He moved away from Perfect, "I'll be right back." Tender Heart hurridley went to his office. It was a matter of seconds before he returned with the book, "Here. Give this to him and tell them to just work on more practice problems."

"Right," Bright Heart said before heading out.

"Are you alright, Illusion?" Proud Heart asked the gator, who was still on the floor.

"Jus a little surprised chere. Tryin to wrap mah brain aroun dis is all," he replied.

"It might be easier if you got up," Proud Heart offered a hand to help Illusion stand.

Tender Heart was currently gripping Perfect's hand and brought him over to the others. "I'm pretty sure you've met everyone here."

"I have, and I must say that it's nice to see you in your professional attire," Perfect said, smiling.

"Well thank you," Proud Heart said as she finally got Illusion to his feet.

Illusion straightened his bandanna, "Dis about as professional as I get homme."

"Well you guys can chat with him later." Tenderheart smiled at Perfect, "Let's get you settled in at my place."

"Sounds good. My stuff's in a cloud car I parked nearby," Perfect said.

"At least we didn't hear any accidents," Proud Heart sighed in relief.

"Well you two get going then," True Heart said, "I should get back to Terra Heart. She's doing very well with her braille." She added as she headed back to her tutoring office.

"Come on Perfect. My house isn't far." Tender Heart led the way outside.

"So, feeling confident enough to jump these?" Valiant asked as he and Swift Heart stood at the edge of the Rainbow River.

"I'm deciding." She responded while looking the distance between the rocks over.

"Well you decide and I'll see you at the finish line," Valiant took a few steps back then dashed at the water's edge, taking a jump at the nearest rock. He landed and took a moment to regain his footing before jumping to the next one a bit more easily.

Swift Heart gulped, "Fauna no laughing at me if I fall in." Backing up a few paces she ran at the water, closed her eyes and leapt. Feeling her feet touch stone she opened them and grinned. "Not so hard." She then jumped to the next one and landed briefly next to Valiant. "Catch me if you can." Swift Heart leapt to the next one and the next one with increasing speed, getting the hang of it.

"Hey! No aquaphobic rabbit is beating me crossing water!" Valiant jumped at the next rock, and made two more leaps. He and Swift Heart were close and Valiant took a a jump to the third last rock ahead of her.

Scowling Swift Heart leapt after him. Together they landed on the next-to-last rock together. Swift Heart almost slipped on a patch of wetness and grabbed Valiant to steady herself. "Phew that was close."

"I'm still getting there first." Valiant jumped as far as he could, aiming for the ledge, but despite his best attempts he missed his mark and headed for the water. Thinking fast he shot his hand out at the water and shouted: "Hado 31, Shakkaho!" and a ball of red energy shot out of his hand, blasting the water, the shockwave giving him enough of a boost to land on the edge and scattering water around the area. "Ha! made it."

"Oh come on! That is officially unfair!" Swift Heart called after him.

"No one said I couldn't use whatever advantage I had." Valiant grinned and took off on the last of the running course.

"If thats the case then I'm going to use my advantage to hand your tail to you." Leaping to the last rock and then to shore she shot off after Valiant, really letting her legs stretch and moving a faster pace than she had been before the river. Valiant heard her behind him and he began picking up speed even though he knew it was useless, memories of his training coming back to him as he put on as much steam as he could.

Drawing even with him she smiled at him, "Have you ever seen me go as fast as I can Valiant?"

"How...could...I?" he panted.

"Well it looks an awful lot like this!" In the time it took Valiant to blink Swift Heart had been replaced by a puff of dust. The dust trail led away from him and blocked a good majority of the trail. Swift Hearts cocky laughter however lingered for a while.

Valiant slowed down to his normal running speed, "I wish she'd fallen in the river," he muttered.

Back on the other side of the river, Birthday, Funshine and Friend had stopped at the edge, with Cozy coming up a short distance behind them

"So, want to go first?" Birthday asked the girls.

Funshine looked at the distance to the first rock. "I don't think I can make that jump."

"Well I'll go," Friend took a deep breath and jumped at the first rock, landing on all fours before standing up. "Made it."

Looking at it again Funshine shook her head once more. "Nope, I think I'll take the swimming option." Putting her hands over her head she dove in.

"I'll give it a shot," Birthday ran back past Cozy, and then turned and dashed at the river right past Cozy Heart again and jumped, but he missed the mark and hit the water with a splash. "Ackthp!" he gurgled as she finally managed to tread water.

"You need to diet," Friend said as she began hopping across the rocks.

"Looks like it. I should prpbably cut back on the sweet stuff." Birthday panted.

Finally reaching the shore Cozy fell into the water absolutely exhausted. "Ahhhh ssso much better." She began to paddle out to Birthday. "Need a boossst?"

"If you're offering," Birthday replied. Placing her flippers under Birthday's foot Cozy lifted him up high enough that he could climb onto the rock. Birthday got his footing on the rock and jumped to the next one, finally making the jump as Friend made it to the other side and took off running again.

Seeing Funshine a few strokes ahead of her Cozy caught up. "How mad do you think Brave Heart will be if I just swim back to the starting point?"

"Does the river go that far?" Funshine asked as she almost reached the other bank.

Cozy nodded, "It runsss real clossse."

"Do it girl! Break a rule, it's good for you." Cozy nodded and disappeared under the surface before swimming upstream. Funshine pulled herself out and began walking. Staring a small sun from her tummy symbol she began to dry herself off.

Birthday missed his last jump and landed with a splash in the water. "Help!" he called to Funshine as he tried to pull himself up to shore.

Turning she jogged back to the river and held a hand out to Birthday. "Grab ahold me harty."

Birthday grabbed on and managed to pull himself out. "Can I borrow your sun for a minute?" he asked, as water dripped from his fur. She nodded and gave a little whistle before pointing to him. The sun quickly moved to float over Birthday.

"Thanks, I'll catch up when I'm dry," he said, letting the sun warm up his fur.

"Oh please. I'm in no mood to go running off. I was planning on walking for a bit." She smiled brightly at him, "Still want me to leave?"

"I won't force you," Birthday replied. "So how are things with Playful Heart?"

"Well if you must know: I'm pregnant, with triplets. And when I told Playful we broke up and then got back together because he asked me to marry him. We went down to earth yesterday and eloped in Vegas. So I suppose good." She told him straight faced.

"What?!" Birthday stumbled and fell on his rear, "Please tell me you're joking."

Both Funshine and her sun began to laugh, "I'm totally kidding! I just couldn't resist. It seems like all the other couples have had their fair share of drama this year."

"I noticed," Birthday got to his feet, "You're still virgins though right?" he asked, starting to walk back to the starting point.

Funshine nodded, "Yes nosy we are both still virgins. I'm pretty sure Playful will rent a giant billboard to brag when we finally decide to not be."

"Can't wait to see that," Brithday sighed. "I hope we don't have to run this course too much."

"I will protest. And you know me, normally I am not a complainer." Funshine took a moment to fix her shorts. "I don't mind being active but this is a little intense."

"Well the sooner we get back the sooner we finish." Birthday decided to pick up his pace to a jog. Funshine joined him, the sun still trailing behind them.

Valiant arrived back at the start to find Swift Heart already waiting by Brave Heart, he was panting a bit from the heavy sprint he had done trying to beat her earlier.

Swift Heart was resting with her arm up on Brave Hearts shoulder and smiled at Valiant, "Aww what's the matter super power? You're not tired are you?"

"Just...a little...out of breath...Speedy Gonzales," Valiant retorted.

She inspected her nails, "I could smoke Speedy Gonzales."

Brave Heart smiled, "Glad to see you're back to normal."

Valiant finally took a deep breath and stood up straighter, "Well that was fun. How long 'till the others get back?"

Swift Heart pointed at the river, "Well there's Cozy Heart." Her ear twitched to the right and she saw Friend almost to them, "And there is Friend Bear."

Friend came running up. "Not bad, coach," she said as she came to a halt.

"Good to hear." Brave Heart looked over at Cozy Heart.

"Ssssorry Brave Heart. I'm jusssst not built for running." She stuck out her webbed foot.

"It's fine Cozy. You tried."

"Well we just need to wait for Birthday and Funshine now," Friend said, looking back along the course they had run.

"If you like I can go see whats keeping them?" Swift offered Brave Heart.

"I think they're fine Swifty. But if you feel the need to go ru-" She was off and running before he even had a chance to get the last word out. Brave Heart yelped as he fell down from the sudden lack of support.

"She's enthusiastic alright," Valiant said, watching her go.

Funshine felt a breeze blow past her and Birthday. "That feels nice."

"Good then let's go, double time! Come on you guys are almost done!" She jumped hearing Swift Heart's voice suddenly behind her. "You too Birthday, come on let's hustle." Birthday and Funshine felt themselves being pushed along at a faster pace.

"Hey, we were having a nice jog!" Birthday protested.

Moving in front of them she tilted her head, "This is not a jog. This is barely a speed walk."

"Well then we were having a nice speed walk, barely. Not all of us are made of pure adrenaline."

"Funshine if you can walk on sunshine, you can run on it. And I'm sure it'll feel good."

Trying not to laugh Funshine stuck her tongue out at the rabbit.

"Well can't you go and tell Brave Heart we'll be along in a while and you guys can just be dismissed?" Birthday asked.

"Aww someones getting crabby." But she turned around and returned to Brave Heart and the others, relaying Birthday's message.

"So how about it, coach, can we go while you wait for Funshine and Birthday?" Friend asked.

He nodded, "I don't see why not. Have a good weekend guys. Try and do something proactive."

"Count on that!" Swift Heart told him, "Thanks again for this Brave Heart." Waving to him she headed for home.

"Well I'm gonna go see if Love-a-Lot's busy," Valiant said, taking off.

"Yeah, and I have homework to do," Friend added, heading for home. Cozy headed for her igloo. Brave Heart could just see Funshine and Birthday coming into view. Birthday finally came to a stop in front of Brave Heart, panting from his run and unwilling to speak.

Funshine just collapsed onto her back. "Okay, I vote for roller blading next," she wheezed, "And that Swift Heart take a drug test."

"Seconded," Birthday just gave up and collapsed as well.

"Ya'll did good. You finished and that's all I want. Don't worry we'll work on your stamina." He handed them water bottles "Drink this slowly."

Brithday sat up and grabbed the bottle, pouring it slowly into his mouth and swallowing a bit at a time. Funshine just balanced it on her forehead, liking how cool it felt.

"Once you can walk again you're free to go."

"Awesome," Funshine acknowledged.

Valiant headed for Defiant's langauge class and took a seat nearby, waiting for the class to end. As he sat there he spotted Tenderheart and Perfect Panda nearby, "What the?" he asked aloud before getting up and jogging towards them. "Hey Tenderheart, Hi Perfect. What's going on here?" he asked.

Perfect and I are walking. Together. Is that okay?" Tender Heart told him.

"Umm yes, I mean why is Perfect here, wait..." Valiant thought for a moment.

"Don't strain yourself, Valiant, I'll tell you. I'm moving in with Tenderheart because we're in love and I decided to clear out before the kids are born," Perfect replied.

"Oh, well congratulations. Are you going to be joining our classes then?" Valiant asked.

"No he's not. Perfect scored a 91 on his test." Tender Heart smiled over at the Panda. "Apparently he really is as his name suggests. At least to me."

Perfect giggled, "Oh Tender thank you," he said, giving Tenderheart a kiss.

"Ah, ok then," Valiant said. Further conversation was interrupted by the official end-of-classes bell. Valiant turned back to watch for Love-a-Lot emerging from Defiant's classroom.

She was in a conversation with Grateful. "Yeah that would be good. But personally I don't know why she seems to think it's the end of the world. Maybe if we-WHY IS TENDER HEART KISSING PERFECT!" She shrieked mid-sentence as she saw the display outside of her classroom. Running up to them she pulled them apart, "Details! Now! When, how, where, why? Who made the first move?" Grabbing Tender Heart's shoulders she began to shake him, "How could you keep this from meeeeeee!"

Valiant managed to pull Love-a-Lot away from Tenderheart, giving him time to stop his head from shaking, "Easy, Love-a-Lot, give him a chance to answer before he passes out."

"Him passing out? I'm about to pass out. The one person in our family who never lies or hides things just pulled the biggest surprise on me in my own talent!" Love-a-Lot put a hand to her head, "I need to lie down."

Tenderheart shook his head, "And they say gays are drama queens."

"I think she has us beat there," Perfect couldn't help but giggle. "but to answer your questions it started when Tender and I first met in the valley. There was just a spark there that I couldn't explain at first."

Tenderheart nodded, "We just clicked. He never made a comment about my uptightness. He was just a good listener and willing to play host. I didn't have to worry about anything which was so nice for a change."

"Tenderheart was the one who told me how he felt first, right before Polite and I decided we had to go home. He's been visiting me in secret whenever he could get away for the last few months, and bringing me study material so I wouldn't have to go to school when I finally decided to finally move up here," Perfect sighed, "I missed so much stuff from this place."

"What like TV and junk food?" Valiant asked.

"Bingo!" Perfect grinned.

"He missed the home shopping network. Perfect has a flair for interior design," Tenderheart bragged.

"Well that's not a stereotype or anything," Treat Heart added joining the conversation.

"Hi Treat Heart, are you as surprised as Love-a-Lot was?" Valiant asked, supporting his girlfriend so she could stand properly.

"I wouldn't say as surprised. I feel like a lot of us are but definitely not taking it quite as personally as Love."

"You don't understand Treat Heart. It's like discovering that Playful Heart knows the secret to the perfect pudding recipe and was keeping it from you all this time," she had taken to fanning herself. Treat Heart shook her head at her antics.

"Alright, let's get you home before you pass out on the clouds," Valiant said, helping Love-a-Lot away from the scene.

"Good bye!" Perfect waved to them. "So after we unpack should we show everyone that I've arrived or wait until tomorrow?" Perfect asked Tenderheart.

Tenderheart gripped Perfect's hand. "Let's see how we feel."

Seeing Secret smiling at them he winked at her. She in turn made the motion of locking her lips and tossing the key away.

Grateful watched as the couple headed into what was now their home, "So. Tenderheart's gay. I guess what Friend was saying was right," she said. "Well I'm going to go start on the homework Defiant gave us." She turned and headed for her house.

Jolly had just watched the whole thing, feeling very happy for Tenderheart. He hoped people would now leave the poor guy alone. Seeing Secret's expression he elbowed her lightly, "You lil' mynx. You knew bout this oll along didn' ya?" She shrugged innocently. "Oh bugger off!" He laughed at her and headed for home.

Perfect's suitcase didn't have much, just a few books he'd grown fond of and the couple outfits he had that were from the human world and a picture of himself with Polite and Good Luck, which he promptly set on the top of the dresser.

"Where did you get that?" Tenderheart asked, referring to the picture.

"Good Luck brought back one of those instant cameras after one of his trips," Perfect explained.

"Nice. So you can have the top three drawers and the left side of the closet. If you need more space we can go shopping tomorrow for furniture." Tenderheart looked briefly around his room, "All I ask is you don't leave clothes lying around. It really irks me." He looked to Perfect for his reaction.

"Don't worry, I don't like leaving things lying around. Actually Polite blew up at me a coupel days ago when I told her to stop leaving her clothes on the floor," Perfect opened the dresser's top drawer and dropped the pair of pants and shorts he owned before turning to the closet and hanging up the only three shirts he'd brought with him. "I definitely need to add to my wardrobe," he mused.

"Well then a shopping we shall go. I think between the two of us we can find some stores for you to get stuff," Tenderheart told him with a grin.

"Well you're driving," Perfect said. "So want to head out now or stay in for a bit?" he asked.

Tenderheart regarded Perfects attire. "Let's go now. It will give Love-a-Lot's head a chance to stop spinning."

"Didn't that happen in a movie?" Perfect asked as they headed for the front door.

"What? Love-a-Lots head spinning or just head spinning in general?"

"Head spinning in general."

He nodded, "Yeah and that girl needed an exorcism. Let's hope we won't need that."

Perfect giggled, "Let's hope." They arrived outside and Perfect conjured a cloud car. Getting in the driver seat Tenderheart adjusted the mirrors before slowly rising into the air.

Brave Heart watched Birthday and Funshine finally get up and head home before he left the gym, heading for Harmony's house. As he approached he smiled as he heard the music, "Sounds like they're getting better."

Harmony sat back listening as the guys ran through their song. As Grumpy closed it out with a drum roll she applauded, "That was tight guys. You have gotten eons better."

Champ grinned, "All thanks to you Harmony."

"I'm feeling those vibes man. Get up out of here now. You guys are done." They began to pack up their instruments and went to put them in the garage.

Brave Heart entered as he heard the music stop, "They're certainly soundin' good now. You must be inspirin' them, Harmony."

"I must be. But then again I am the reigning muse up here. Or so you tell me," she told him.

"Well it ain't a lie." Brave Heart gave her a quick kiss.

"Did your obstacle course go well?" She asked as the boys began to trickle back through her house.

"Swift Heart loved it, Valiant and Friend did alright. Cozy decided to swim half the way back though but I don't blame her. Funshine and Friend need to work on their stamina though, they collapsed right after they got back to the gym," Brave Heart replied.

Harmony saw Grumpy leaving in a hurry and laughed, "He's happy to hear that. But you are just the guy to teach them how to build stamina." She wrapped her arms around his middle, "You've always had great stamina."

Brave Heart chuckled, "Heheh, well it helps in a lot of places." He put his arms around Harmony and gave her a deeper kiss.

Champ quickly ushered Snowy Heart and Bedtime out so the couple could have some privacy. Harmony hummed happily as Brave Heart kissed her, "I was referring to you in sports boo boo. But hey, whatever gets you pumped."

"Either or. So what did you have planned for tonight?" Brave Heart asked.

"You are taking me dancing," Harmony informed him. Standing she rubbed her nose against his, "Remember you promised so no weaseling out of it."

Brave Heart rubbed back, "Wouldn't dream of it darlin'. Did you have a specific place in mind?"

"A new place opened in Philly. Let's check it out. Besides I borrowed a dress from Swifty for just this occasion."

"Hmm, I wonder what kind of dress that is." Brave Heart did his best to picture Harmony in what he thought Swift Heart might wear but shook his head. "What kind of style _does_ she have?" he asked.

"Mmmm mmm boy. That one got it twisted fo' sho'." Harmony said while moving to her bedroom. "She all aboout comfort during the day, but when she comes out with the girls," She paused for effect and moved her finger all over, "Girlfriend be lookin like alllllllll that." Harmony disappeared into her bedroom. Continuing to speak however she said, "And you didn't hear this from me, but she definitely isn't afraid to go hoochy."

"I won't mention that to anyone, don't want to hurt her feelings," Brave Heart replied, "I'll go get a car ready while you change. Should I change?"

"You in a track suit. And I'm bout to take you to the newest trendiest club in one of the biggest hip hop cities. What does that tell you?"

"That I'll be back in about ten minutes in a new getup," Brave Heart chuckled as he headed for the door.

Harmony slipped on the borrowed dress from Swift Heart. It was black and extremely tight. The sleeves exposed her shoulders and were black lace that went all the way to her wrists. Luckily for her she had smaller hips then Swift Heart so it covered more on her then the rabbit, however her cleavage was filling out the top more than it was used to. Checking herself over she quickly accessorized and went to meet Brave Heart out front.

Brave Heart returned in a cloud car a minute later, wearing navy blue dress pants and a dark purple t-shirt. His eyes almsot bugged out of his face when he got a look at Harmony and he stepped out to greet her, a happy smirk on his face. "I never expected that," he said, putting an arm around her, "A bit tight in the chest?" he asked, noting her exposed cleavage.

She nodded, "Yeah. Its cause this back doesn't give at all." Turning she showed him the back of her dress was nothing but black lace. It also showed she wasn't wearing a bra. "But something told me you wouldn't mind." Harmony tilted her head to kiss him.

"You're right, I don't," Brave Heart took her kiss whole heartedly. "Now let's get a move on," he added as he led her to the car.

She pulled her hem down for good measure before sitting in the front seat. "And remember I'll watch the game with you Sunday as a thank you."

"That gives us a whole day with no plans," Brave Heart smiled as he got into the driver's seat. "I'm countin' on you to show me where it is."

"I expected as much." She pulled a piece of paper out of her purse with the address on it and typed it into the gps. "There you go."

"Alright, Phelidelphia here we come," Brave Heart drove the cloud car upwards then over the edge of the clouds aiming for Earth.

"How are your classes this week?" Harmony asked while fiddling with the radio station.

"They're good. I'm getting some complaints from Treat Heart and Birthday though, and a couple others who don't like exercising," Brave Heart replied.

"Maybe you can offer then something that isn't so labor intensive. Like pilates or yoga," she offered as a solution.

"Not a bad idea, I just need to learn those first," Brave Heart replied.

Reaching over she fingered his mane, "Leave it to me boo. I know some girls who are into it and I'm sure they'd be more than willing to help you out."

"Thank you, Harmony," Brave Heart gave her a quick kiss before turning his gaze forwards again.

"Just doing my job as your girlfriend. No big deal."

"Ah appreciate it. Looks like we're here," Brave Heart had spotted the dance club and pulled the cloud car to the nearest parking lot with an empty parking spot.

Harmony could hear the music from where they were. "Sounds like the place is bopping already." She was ready to hit the dance floor.

"Well then let's go," Brave Heart got out of the car and took Harmony by the hand as she got out, the cloud car dispersing as they stepped out.

"We should have parked in front of the club. Talk about an entrance," she teased.

"Maybe next time." Brave Heart winked at her. "So do we need anything to get into this club?"

Harmony winked at him and tugged on his hand. Going up to the bouncer she said, "Harmony and guest. I'm on the list."

He looked over the clipboard. After a few seconds he unclipped the rope allowing them to go in before the line of people outside. "Enjoy."

As they walked in she turned to Brave Heart, "All you need is me. I'm the in card." She told him matter-of-factly.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. No one is more in than you," Brave Heart gave her a kiss as they walked through the front door of the club.

She kissed him back briefly before leading him onto the dance floor. "Oh yeah I'm digging this vibe." Once she found a spot to her liking she turned and back against Brave Heart. She moved slowly at first allowing Brave Heart to get in synch with her. It didn't take long for Brave Heart to pick up on Harmony's rhythm and he eagerly joined her in dance.

They stayed at the club till well after midnight. Brave Heart did pretty good with keeping up with Harmony but he had to take a few breaks. As they left the club with the rest of the patrons Harmony stopped to remove her heels "Oh man that was fun! I haven't danced so much in a long time. I think my feet are going to fall off."

Brave Heart put an arm around her, "I'd believe it. That was one hell of a night, thanks for getting me to come here."

She kissed him. "You're welcome. Can you do me a favor though baby cakes?"

"Anything, you name it."

"Carry me to the car. I wasn't kidding about my feet falling off," she said with a laugh.

"As you wish," Brave Heart easily scooped her up in his arms and began carrying her.

Feeling her skirt riding up she quickly pulled it down before putting her arms around Brave Heart's neck. "Ahhhh I can feel my toes again already." She kissed the side of his head in thanks.

"I said anything and I meant anything," he lifted Harmony up higher and conjured a cloud car out of his tummy symbol before carrying Harmony to the car and setting her in the passenger's seat.

She sank down in the seat and tilted her head back with a sigh, letting the night breeze cool her off. "Oh man I'll be sleeping good tonight."

"I'll getch'ya home, Harmony," Brave Heart reassured her as he got into the driver's seat and drove upwards towards the Kingdom of Caring.

Looking at him out of the corner of her eye she slid over till her head rested on his shoulder. "You know I'm all about keeping the peace. And since I got to choose this activity it's only fair you do the next one. So whatever you want man. Your choice."

"I'll think of something, but I think we should wait till tomorrow. You're spent." He gave her a kiss on the head, "If you want you can just sleep and I'll get you to bed when we get home."

"Hit the nose on the head." Wrapping her arms around his she snuggled up against him.

"Thought so." Brave Heart smiled.


	5. Care-a-Lot High Arc, Part 1

Chapter 5

As the sun was setting in Pegasus Falls, Red Snout approached the grave they had made for Fauna. Even though her body had not been recovered her friends had decided they wanted to have a place to pay their respects to her. In his mouth Red Snout held a small group of stellar lilies. The tips of the petals were a soft blue and as they went to the stamen opening they turned to yellow. He gently placed them on the grave, among the other flowers there. Seeing dead ones he began to clean them up. He could smell that Forsty and Thunder had been there earlier in the day but Blue hadn't. In fact Blue's smell was nowhere nearby.

"Figures." He muttered as he continued straightening up.

Renegade had finished his training for the day and decided to go and to his sister's grave. He had made time to come and visit lately so he decided that this was a good time to remedy that.

As he came in for a landing he spotted Red Snout cleaning up the flowers on the grave. He took a deep breath as he landed, determined not to make a scene. Red Snouts ears flicked back as he heard Renegade land behind him. "Figures, Fauna. Even now I can't get a moment alone with you." For the time being he just ignored Renegade. Renegade felt an urge to shoot something back, but took another deep breath and approached the grave silently.

"Hey can you give me a minute? I wanted privacy." It wasn't a question. He expected Renegade to back up.

"I'd rather not be alone right now and I won't be long," Renegade replied.

"You're confused. I wasn't really asking. And if you don't want to be alone then go back to that nut job of a shaman," Red Snout put himself between the grave and Renegade.

"White Fang is not a nut job," Renegade bristled.

The change in Renegade's tone was like blood in the water. Red Snout smirked "You're right, nut job doesn't quite cover it. I'd say total wacko or clinically insane. Then find some of your other friends to...oh wait. Is that it? You really don't have anyone else. It was just those Care Freaks."

"They're not freaks!" Renegade snapped back, "and in case you forgot they were Fauna's family too."

He shook his head. "No. They weren't. Frosty, Thunder, Blue and I were. Family loves you unconditionally, and we did."

"I'm her family too and I loved her!" Renegade shot back, "You said my stake in your live had gone up so what's wrong with you, running around with that... gang or whatever you call them!"

"Climbing up from where you were is no huge accomplishment. You were never meant to exist! You were created to kill Fauna, how do you think I see you!" He snarled. "When you've lost some you were in love with, not just loved then you can judge my actions."

"I have lost someone, even if they're still alive, and don't you dare question my right to exist!" Renegade was fuming now, steam actually seemed to be emanating for his body.

Laughing Red Snout shot back, "What? You don't mean that pig I saw you kicking out the day Blue banished them. Oh man, Renegade that is pathetic! In what universe did you ever see that working out?" He turned away from Renegade and gently nudged his flowers around the headstone.

"What does her species matter!?" Renegade shouted back, "I liked her and I was hoping to see where it went and until Blue ordered the portal sealed I thought it could go somewhere but I've given up on it no matter how much it hurts."

Red Snout looked up at him again, "Blue should have made that call long before this happened. They are poison. That's what they did for years, poison Fauna's mind with their ideals." Moving closer to Renegade he whispered, "And if she really wanted to be with you, she would have found a way. Rules don't matter if you really care about someone. And if I recall, you said yourself we should seal the portal too. So maybe it was you who really didn't want to try that hard to keep your love alive." Red Snout's tone was condescending as he spoke to Renegade.

"I was trying to keep things from getting out of hand and," Renegade suddenly exploded, an aura around his body flaring up as his voice rose. "You know what, I wish a lot of things were different about all of this! I wish I didn't have to hide in here from the world with everyone else! I wish you would stop hiding how you felt from everyone, it's not like you fooled anyone except Fauna anyway!"

Red Snout backed away from Renegade as his body began to glow. This was not a normal Pegasus temper flare, this was something else. Snorting he shot back, "She didn't feel the same. I'm not stupid, I know that. But having a little piece of her was better than nothing, and that's what I would have gotten if she knew how I felt." He was watching him warily now.

"Then stop obsessing!" Renegade shouted, the aura growing stronger, "I wish the Care Bears were different too, like those Magi, maybe if they were Fauna wouldn't have a grave in Care-a-Lot! Maybe you wouldn't be so bitter! I just want everything to change!" Renegade's last word carried with it an explosive outburst of energy that washed over them and exploded outwards. Renegade just stood there blinking, "what was that?"

"You're the shaman in training, you tell!" His feathers were all puffed out and his eyes were wide.

"I...I...I have to go," Renegade took off, shifting into an eagle and flying north.

Red Snout remained at the grave trying to get his feathers to deflate and his heart to stop racing. Turning back to the grave he informed it, "See I told you he was a weird dude."

Renegade's eyes were watering, whether from his speed or emotions he wasn't sure but he had to get away and find out just what he had done.

Later in the evening Silver Foot was checking on the members of his herd before he returned to his nest and Ferra. It was a quiet night for the most part, that's why it surprised him to hear someone sobbing softly. In the white wolf territory there was a small outcropping of rocks that made a rough lean to. It was just large enough for an adult pegasus to get under if they really wanted to, but mostly it was used by foals. A bunch of brambles concealed the opening from prying eyes. Going to the brambles he called softly, "Now what could be making someone so upset on a night like this? The stars are out and shining brightly and there is hardly a breath of wind."

Some sniffling was heard followed by a quiet voice, "G-Grandsire?"

Silver Foot instantly became worried, "Renegade? What's the matter lad? Come out of there."

Renegade was silent for a moment. "Al-alright." Renegade carefully pushed his way out of the brambles, ignoring any scrapes he was receiving. Tears still clung to his face.

"You look a mess. What on earth were you doing in there?" He asked as he looked him over.

"Hiding."

He gave a little chuckle. "I hate to break it to you sonny. But that isn't exactly a hiding spot. Mostly the foals just go there when they are in trouble and think they are hiding." He lowered his head to look into Ren's eyes, "Who were you hiding from?"

"Everything, mostly White Fang," Renegade lowered his head until he was staring at his hooves.

"Well that's a relief. I thought it was going to be something major." He tried to joke and lift his spirits. "Why don't you narrow it down for me?"

"I was arguing with Red Snout and I did... something. I had a sudden outburst of magical energy," Renegade said.

"Oh is that all? Thats happened before. Pegasus tempers get out of control sometimes and our magic just flares up." Silver Foot informed him.

"But not like that, it was huge and I haven't been using magic long enough for that to happen. I just found out what I did," Renegade pulled the brambles back with a hoof, allowing a bubble to float out. "It's from that spell that the Kingsire showed me, a locator spell. I asked it show me what my magic did."

Silver Foot looked over at the bubble. "What exactly am I looking at?"

"It's the Kingdom of Caring. I didn't recognize it at first either. I changed the place, it's completely different. I don't know what I did though and I'm too scared to talk to White Fang about it," Renegade replied.

"But he's your mentor. You shouldn't be afraid to tell him about a little magical mishap." Silver Foot looked at the bubble again. No one appeared to be awake in care-a-lot at the moment. "Come to my nest tonight and sleep. Then when you're calmer you can go see White Fang. I'm sure the spell will not do anything drastic to them."

"I used the spell to check everything. Fauna's grave is gone," Renegade said, not budging from his spot.

"The one here?" He asked for clarification.

Renegade shook his head, "No, just the one over there. I saw it briefly before the gate was sealed and I know they'd never get rid of it."

"Hmmmm. Well then the call is yours. If you want to go to White Fang tonight I can go with you. For moral support."

"I'd appreciate that, thank you Grandsire," Renegade said. Spreading his wings he hovered momentarily waiting for Ren to join him. Renegade took off and hovered next to Silver Foot, his expression still downcast.

"Knowing White Fang he's been asleep for a while so he may be crabby when we wake him." When Renegade didn't respond he kept talking. "You know, everyone makes mistakes. I think you are being too hard on yourself."

"It's not just that," Renegade began flying towards White Fang's igloo, "Red Snout said some stuff that's been bugging me. I know he has issues with me and I should be over this but still..."

Silver Foot sighed, "What did he say? Do I need to have a word with his alpha?"

"Talking about my right to exist, since I was created to kill Fauna. I keep trying to forget where I came from, or at least tell myself it doesn't matter. But that magical outburst... I don't know how I could so something like that at my age," Renegade said.

"Allow me to hazard a guess. I believe it may have something to do with how you were made. Since you came from magic, do you think it's possible yours is stronger than most?"

"Maybe," Renegade said, "But that just makes me feel worse about the whole thing. Maybe Red Snout's right about me."

Silver Foot was silent for a moment. "And what if he is? What are you going to do about it?"

"I wish knew. At the moment I'd rather have white Fang decide," Renegade replied.

"Very well." He remained quiet for the rest of the flight.

Renegade and Silver Foot sat in White Fang's igloo, waiting for the shaman to be ready speak after being woken up.

Sitting across from the White Fang yawned widely. "Alright. This had better be good. I have a meeting with the Council in the morning."

"I cast some sort of spell earlier today, by accident. I think I changed the Care Bears somehow," Renegade said.

"What are you babbling about? How do you accidentally cast a spell." White Fang snapped

"He was in a highly emotional state." Silver Foot explained. "He said there was an aura about him and it exploded."

That seemed to catch the Shamans attention. "Oy!"

"I was arguing with Red Fang and this energy just built up inside me and exploded. I don't know how it happened it just did. When I used that location spell the Kingsire showed me to see what my magic had done I could see the Kingdom of Caring, but it had changed and my sister's grave was gone," Renegade explained.

White Fang began to pace. "Well what did you say right before the spell went off?"

"Of all the schlocky spells to mess up!" White Fang grumbled. "And you did it without any training in it."

"Speak English Fang. What are you mumbling about?"

He scowled at the alpha, "Renegade accidentally changed the care bears reality. He gave them a new way to live and one in which they never met a young Fauna." Renegade's ear's drooped but he said nothing, unable to bring his gaze to meet that of either elder Pegasus.

Silver Foot nudged White Fang. "What? Stop hitting me." He looked to Renegade indicating White Fang should say something to him. "Alright. Don't nag!" Going to Renegade he said "It's reversible. I just don't know how yet. No need for the sad punum."

Renegade looked up, "But what if I do something like this again? I couldn't control it the first time. I don't even know how I was able to do it in the first place."

"It was most likely due to your outburst. If I had known you were this powerful I would have started with you learning to control," White Fang informed him. "It appears you have a bit more then Pegasus magic."

"Probably because I was created by No-Heart," Renegade said.

"That'll do it. No need to have a long spiel about why or what or how. And until I know what you did exactly, I can't undo it so they will just have to live in this new reality."

"I'll have to check in the morning, when they wake up. Hopefully we can figure this out then," Renegade sighed.

"Just be careful not to start a scene. They may not recognize you if they never met Fauna," Silver Foot cautioned.

"It'll probably just be best if I use magic to watch them, no telling what will happen if they see me," Renegade said.

Grumpy Bear took his time leaving his house. He hated going to school. It was monotonous and the people were stupid and monotonous. Every day was exactly like the day before, nothing ever seemed to change. After he finally dragged himself out of the house and choked down a breakfast of cold pop tarts he sat on his car in the school parking lot. He kept to himself as he watched the others starting to arrive. Across the lot Grumpy saw Brave Heart entertaining his group of friends, the A crowd. All of them were jocks and they saw everyone else as beneath them. He despised them. Nothing about them screamed superiority to him.

Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye he looked over his shoulder to see Swift Heart coming into the school lot. She walked right past him and headed for the group of A crowders.

"Hey Swift Heart! We were beginning to think you were skipping today."

"Believe me Champ, I considered it. Heavily."

Brave Heart smiled as she reached him and put his arm around her. "Well I'm glad you didn't."

"I'll bet you are." She retorted before standing on her tip toes to kiss him.

"Eew gross. Grumpy is looking this way again." Cheer declared trying to hide her face.

"He is so creepy. And talk about a bad attitude." Love-a-Lot agreed.

"Clearly he's got a thing for you Cheer." Champ teased her making her flinch.

"Ugh as if." She made a big show of wrapping her arms around Champ.

"Nah, I don't think he has a thing for you, Cheer," Valiant said, his arm over Love-a-Lot's shoulders.

"Yeah everyone knows he only has a thing for his truck. That's why he's always working on it," Swift Heart agreed.

"Besides Valiant. You ain't exactly mister normal yourself. You have that club thing you do," Brave Heart added.

"Well pardon me for having an interest in the same stuff Snowy does, and Loyal Heart's a good club leader. Too bad he still can't hold meetings very often, he still has teacher stuff to do and it's not like I ever miss practise for it," Valiant replied.

"Yeah...but it's still weird." Swift Heart retorted.

"Agreed." Cheer and Share said in unison.

"Yeah, what about you Share, you're dating Snowy and you don't think he's weird," Valiant said.

Share giggled, "Oh I never said that. But there is something about him that just draws me in. Plus he has other amazing qualities that help me over look a little oddness."

"Whatever," Valiant said.

Further conversation was forestalled by the whining of a dying engine as a clunker of a car pulled up to the school's parking lot. Once it came to a stop a badger in a patch sewn jacket stepped out, carrying his load of course materials as he headed for the school's main building.

Grumpy frowned at the smoking car. "Someone needs to put that thing out of its misery." He watched as Defiant hurried into the school and the jock group laughed at him. Cheer's voice carried from it, "I don't understand how he is still employed here. I never learn anything in his class."

"Maybe cause the principal just likes to torture us," Valiant said. Further conversation was halted as the five minutes to class bell rang.

"Ugh. Well let's get today over with. I have track practice and the sooner I get there the happier I'll be." Swift Heart walked into the building with Brave Heart and the others.

Noble Heart got out of his car and hurried into the school. "Of all the days to oversleep," he said as he galloped to his history class. He was panting as he stepped into the class. "Sorry. Alarm clock failed cause of the power outage last night," he said as he got to his desk.

Playful laughed, "Hahah yeah the power outage. I swear it wasn't me."

"And for once I believe you Playful Heart," Noble Heart said as he sat down and began taking role as the class bell rang.

Looking to his left, Playful saw Bedtime asleep on his desk. "Hey wake up! Otherwise you're going to get detention again."

He nudged him, earning a groan. "I was up late again. I had a chem project due."

"I keep telling you to start your homework earlier," Bright Heart commented from behind Bedtime.

Noble Heart finally finished taking role, "Well all 15 of you are here so let's begin." Noble Heart put his attendance book away and turned to the chalkboard, "Now yesterady we finished our unit on the dark ages so today we're going to start on the middle ages, or Medieval times as some prefer to call it." Noble Heart had written both "Middles ages" and "Medieval times" on the chalkboard.

"I've been to Medieval Times. Its that cool resturant with the jousting on the north side of town." Playful announced cheekily. "You get to eat with your hands too." Cozy and Funshine giggled at him.

Noble Heart chuckled, "No, Playful, the Medieval times were the period following the dark ages, mostly composed of shifting kingdoms, the crusades, and a predominance of religion guiding the actions of humans."

"What do you mean by that?" one bear in the class asked.

"Well in the middle ages the church was the strongest power. After the fall of Rome and the rampage of the barbarians throughout Europe many people were scared and often turned to religion for guidance. As a result the church, which is what we now call the Catholic church today, gained a lot of power and influence and the Pope in Italy was the one with the most power, at least once most of the barbarians had been dealt with," Noble Heart replied.

"And the humans just accepted this?" Another voice called from the group. "If they were scared of being attacked wouldn't the answer be more weapons not prayer to an unseeable deity?"

"Most people weren't strong enough to use weapons nor were they able to get access to weapons not made of wood, which became increasingly useless with the widespread use of metal armor. And there was a lot of fear in Europe. Also at this point many kingdoms began to emerge and the few leftovers of the Eastern Roman Empire in Constantinople, later called the Byzantine Empire, were unable to prise their empire back into their hands," Noble Heart explained. "Now, are there any more questions?"

Funshine raised her hand, "How come you drove a car in today? Is the motorcycle not working?" She asked innocently, giving Noble Heart her famously bright smile.

"Out of gas and by the time I got up I didn't have time to refill the tank," Noble Heart replied.

"Thats a shame."

"I think he meant questionsss about what we were learning." Cozy informed Funshine.

"Ohhh. No I'm all good on that stuff."

Noble laughed, "I'll have the bike ready for tomorrow, now let's get started on our lessons. The principal said he'd be visitng random classrooms today so be prepared," he added.

Cozy shivered, "He even makesss me feel chilly," The other students around her agreed.

"Yeah he's a real bozo," Playful added.

"Just don't let him hear you say that," Noble Heart cautioned.

Third period came around and Swift Heart was sitting in the back of her math class waiting for it to start. She was chewing her gum and reading over a magazine with her feet propped up. This being her least favorite class she usually spent every last second up to the bell ringing to enjoy herself.

"Ooo isss that the new isssue of people?" Cozy asked as she sat next to her.

"Yeah it is. You can borrow it when I'm done."

She nodded vigerously, "Pleassse. I see Michael Phelps there." Swifty giggled at her.

Tenderheart was just outside the room, talking with the Principal.

"I mean it Tenderheart. I will not have this schools math scores be the lowest in the district again. You need to be tougher on them. Give them more homework." Principle Norman informed the math teacher.

"More homework won't solve it," Tenderheart was one of the only teachers who stood up to Norman's tactics, "However I did have a penalty system I wanted to test, to encourage them to study harder but if I just pile up homework most of them will give up and the scores will only get lower."

Norman looked intrigued, "A penalty system you say. Well then I picked a good day to sit in on this class. I hope I will get to see an example of it." He never smiled but his face looked slightly less surly. "And if not I will be able to pinpoint exactly where you are falling short."

"Hmph," Tenderheart turned and marched into class right as the bell rang.

Putting her magazine away Swift Heart aslo returned her feet to the floor. Seeing the principal enter as well she swore, "Are you kidding me? This class, really!"

"Swift Heart, you're not one to talk with the grades you've been getting," Tenderheart said as he went to his desk and opened his briefcase. "Principal Norman and I have discussed the low grades our math classes have been getting this quarter. As a result I've decided that you need more incentive to get higher grades."

The Principal took a chair in the front of the room so he could watch the students. "Thanks for calling me out there teach. Real good way to boost moral." She muttered at him.

"That's alright Swifty, it wasn't a secret." Champ informed her. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Now I've had a lot fo time to think about this, anyone who gets a failing grade on homework will have to stay after school in study hall under supervision on the day they receive it. I thought about detention but since you can't do homework there I figured it would be better if you had time to try and improve yourself. You will need to stay for half an hour for every ten points you are below a passing grade, if you get a 0 you will have to stay for three hours, and yes you will have to miss any sports practise or club meetings in these cases," Tenderheart said.

"Interesting choice." Norman informed him. Swift Heart looked appalled "But I can't miss practice! And I definitely can't miss meets! I'm the star of our track team!"

"Well, then study and try to get the right answers on your assignments," was Tenderheart's only response, "Try hanging out with the 'nerds' as you call them. And before you think of anything I will be asking the top performers in my class if anyone has been asking or bribing them to do their homework."

"Oh gee great! Ruin my reputation or ruin my chances at a scholarship." Slumping back in her chair she popped her gum. Principal Norman swooped down on her.

"Well mull it over in detention this Saturday. Spit out that gum." He held out a tissue to her. Ears drooping she did so, relieved when the man moved off.

"Well now that you have been sufficiently motivated," Tenderheart's gaze swept the room, looking at the other nervous more athletically inclined students, "Let's being our lessons shall we." Champ made a mental note to talk to Bright Heart real soon. He had been best friends with the Raccoon in grade school but they had grown apart over the years.

Lunch couldn't have come soon enough that day. Loyal Heart dismissed his gym class and headed for the staff lounge. On the way he heard the unmistakable banging on a vending machine and spotted Defiant Heart pouding on the glass.

"Come on, I just needed some gum why won't it move," he pleaded with the machine.

"Defiant, are you alright?" Loyal Heart asked, stepping next to the machine.

Defiant looked up, "Hi Loyal. No I'm never alright but right now I just needed some gum to burn off some steam."

"Let me help," Loyal Heart put hsi hand on the machine and gave it a little shove, sending the pack of gum falling from where it had been stuck a moment ago. Defiant eagerly fished it out of the machine.

"Thanks Loyal," He said, before popping a piece into his mouth.

"No problem," Loyal Heart reassured him.

Defiant sighed as they headed to the lounge, "why do I keep doing this. Being a teacher just isn't worth it any more, not that I could get a job anywhere else."

"Cheer up, Defiant, things will get better," Loyal reassured him as they entered the staff lounge.

True Heart was sitting at the table, her face huffed up as she chewed on cucumber slices. "The nerve of Principal Norman, bursting in in the middle of my lecture."

"Well he is the Principle dear. And he did have the decency to warn us this time he would be doing so." Grams told her from where she was brewing her tea. "Not that I'm condoning his behavior of course. You know how I feel about the man."

"I hope he chooses to avoid my classes today. Last time he came in he made my kids sing the most depressing song I ever heard," Harmony said from her chair.

"You need to be more assertive about that, he only directs the school he's not allowed to fire you for anything short of illegal activities," Noble Heart said, taking a seat next to True Heart.

True Heart nodded, "I marched him out of my class and asked him to be more subtle. Not sure how well it went over but he backed off."

"If you need any advice just ask Grams, she taught me when I was a student here," Noble Heart added.

Grams chuckled, "Oh dear me have I really been there that long?" Coming over with her tea in hand she patted Noble's shoulder. "The trick to our principal is you have to never appear to be challenging him. Appease him but try to direct his attention elsewhere."

Harmony made a dismayed noise, "For some of us it isn't so easy. I don't enjoy confrontation. My name isn't Harmony by coincidence you know."

"Well mom can help if you really need it." True Heart's face softened now that Grams had sat down. "At least he eats in his office for the solitude."

"Or so we don't see him draining the essence out of the small woodland creatures he captures." Harmony chided.

Tenderheart came in looking exhausted, "So who else had the pleasure of you know who's company today? My 3rd period has never been so quiet."

"I did, for a time, but I managed to get him to tone it down," True Heart said, "Bright Heart thanked me since he was working on one of his little extra credit projects." True Heart smiled.

"The kids love you, Truey, you have the highest district average in your classes." Noble Heart gave True Heart a kiss on the cheek.

"The kids aren't the only ones." Harmony sang out.

Grams reached over and tapped her knee lightly, "Oh let them be Harmony. We didn't tease you when you were dating the hardware guy."

She sighed, "That's because you all knew it was doomed from the start."

"Cheer up, You'll find the right person, speaking of which where's Perfect?" Noble Heart asked, looking at Tenderheart.

He shrugged, "Probably straightening up his classroom. They were welding today and that is usually a mess. Lots of metal shavings and hot torches left everywhere." Tenderheart opened up his lunch and pulled out his pudding cup, "I said I'd meet him here."

"So how are you two doing these days?" True Heart inquired.

"Fine. It was a good idea to move in together. It's made us stronger as a couple. We talk a lot more," he told True Heart.

"Good for you," True Heart smiled.

"So how did your penalty system go over?" Noble Heart asked.

He sighed, "As expected Swift Heart had a meltdown when she heard she would have to miss meets and practices. And then she was nailed for gum chewing by Norman. I could tell it hit home with a few of the others though so I hope it will work."

"Or at least earn you some respect in whatever way works," Loyal Heart said.

"Respect? I'm not familair with that." He retorted dryly.

Harmony glanced at the clock. "I have to go. I promised I would help some students with their scales over lunch." Packing up her salad she put the rest in the lounge fridge and left.

"Have fun," True Heart called as Harmony left.

While the teachers were unwinding in the teachers' lounge the students were doing the opposite on their lunch. The cafeteria was echoing with their shouts and loud conversations. At a table in the corner the A crowd was reuniting after being scattered for morning classes. Brave Heart smiled as Swift Heart arrived and pulled her down on his lap, making her yelp.

"Howdy darlin. Good morning?"

She grunted, "Oh swell. I got detention this Saturday. Principal 'No Heart' nailed me."

Brave Heart frowned, "So ah guess our plans are cancelled then."

"It's not like she chose to get detention." Share said coming to Swift Heart's defense.

"Thank you Share."

"Your right. I'm sorry. I was just looking forward to spending time with you."

Swift Heart placed her arms around his neck, "Well how about I make it up to you. Starting now." Leaning down she kissed Brave Heart. He clearly didn't object and kissed her back, hands remaining around her hips.

"Ughh some of us are loosing our appetite here." Champ called to them.

"Trus' me homme. It ain't dem dats doin it. It dis prison merde dey tryin to pass off as food." Etienne put his tray down on the table.

"Where the hell you been man. We missed you this morning."

"Desole Champ. Glory took a bit longer to get goin." His face fell slightly.

Cheer put a hand on his arm, "She still not feeling good?"

He shook his head, "Non. And de doctors don know why."

"Hope she gets better soon, she's a good kid," Valiant said.

"Merci homme. I pass de thoughts along. She wid her frer now. She like sticken close to him on days like dis." He nodded to the table occupied by Julian and Gloria. With them sat Cozy, Funshine, and Playful Heart.

"So is it true that True Heart actually forced old 'No-Heart' out of her class because he was scaring her students?" Share asked.

"Oui she did. I thought her cheeks were gonna light up she was so annoyed wid him." Etienne informed him. "He try to tell her how to handle us. Dat poor shy gal, Gentle Heart got de brunt of it. She almos' cryed an dat wen our ange swoop in an tell him off."

"He accused us of cheating off everything to get such high grades, that True Heart wasn't watching us enough," Valiant sighed, "Is it so hard to accept that there's at least one or two classes we all like because of the teacher?"

"For Norman? Yeah it is. He doesn't like anyone, including his teachers, so we shouldn't either," Cheer verified.

"Good point, Cheer," Champ laughed.

After the lunch bell rang, Etienne all but ran to his next class. It was his absolute favorite of the day, Advanced Cooking with Grams. The fact it was right after lunch only helped because he NEVER ate school lunches. He was starving and was eager to get something worthy of his sophisticated palate. Grams smiled as he came in, "Good afternoon Etienne. You ready to make something good?"

"Ready as always mon déesse de la cuisine," Going to his station he tied on his apron.

Grams giggled, "Oh you flatterer. I could hear your stomach growling all the way from the lunch room. How is Gloria these days, I heard she wasn't feeling well."

Patting his six pack he nodded, "Right on both accounts. She doin okay. Been feelin a might sick dis week but I hopin whatever it is will pass. Dey tinkin it jus some new form of de flu."

"Well you let me know if she gets any worse," Grams patted his shoulder.

"Finally, thought I'd never get here," Birthday said as he and his partner Treat Heart arrived. "Tenderheart stopped me on the way here to ask about my homework so I had to dig it out of my bag."

"Oh my, how did that happen?" Grams asked.

"I accidentally gave him a shopping list instead of my homework in his class," Birthday admitted.

Grams chuckled, "Sorry my darling but that sounds just like something you would do." She smiled at Treat Heart. "Hello dear."

"Hi Grams. I hope we are making something with chocolate today." She looked irritated slightly.

"Everything okay?" Nodding Treat Heart whispered something to her. Grams smiled and nodded in reply, "Ahh yes dear. I'd say chocolate is just what you need." Grams took a few pieces from her desk and handed them to Treat Heart.

"You're a life saver." Popping them in their mouth she went to her station.

Birthday went to join her, tying on his own apron as the rest of the class filed in. Illusion was the only one in the class without a station partner, because of the odd number of students, which he didn't mind one bit.

"All right gang. Here we go. Today is chicken and asparagus filled crepes with hollandaise sauce on top." She began to write the ingredients on the board. Etienne was a step ahead. As soon as he had heard crepes he had started mixing what he would need for them.

Birthday waited for Grams to finish writing the ingredients before he started pulling the ingredients out of their station's cupboard, the sounds of the other three stations doing the same reached his ears as he grabbed a mixing bowl.

Whistling as he worked Illusion began to pour his batter into the frying pan. After a few moments the one side was cooked and with a practiced flick, he sent it sailing into the air and back down, landing on the uncooked side. "Bon."

"Very nice Etienne." Grams complimented him.

"Show off," someone muttered.

"Yes I am homme. An you gettin de show fo' free so you welcome." He called back happily.

Treat Heart was busy cooking the chicken while Birthday worked on the crepes. Her mouth was watering as the room filled with smells. "Where does Grams come up with these recipes?"

"I think she has a massive file of them at her house that she just digs through every night," Birthday answered as he easily flipped his own crepe, though without the show that Etienne was putting on.

"How you doing kids?" Grams came over to check on them. "Make sure you chop the filling up as finely as possible." Treat Heart nodded in acknowledgement.

"Very good." Grams smiled and moved on to Illusion, giving his always flawless cooking a once over before moving to check the other groups.

Looking over the station Treat Heart saw they didn't have enough cheese. "I'll go steal some from Illusion. He doesn't need that much anyway." She turned the burner down before moving over to Illusion.

"Good Luck," Birthday replied.

Birthday watched as Treat Heart asked the gator for his extra cheese. He nodded and handed it to her, saying something that made her scowl. As Treat Heart snatched the bag and stormed away he chuckled. "Got it." She dropped it on their counter.

"What did Illusion say this time?" Birthday asked.

"He said that it still wouldn't be enough cheese to hide the taste of asparagus. As if I didn't eat vegetables," she huffed.

"He's getting under your skin more than normal," Birthday observed.

Sighing she tried to muster a smile, "I'm just in a mood. I'll be over it in a few days." Chopping the chicken she muttered, "Of course it doesn't help that he is so cocky and arrogant and..." feeling frustrated tears forming she stopped for a moment.

Birthday checked the stove before putting a hand on Treat Heart's shoulder. "Want to go out tonight?" he offered.

Startled she looked up at him, "Like on a date?"

Birthday blinked, realizing what was being suggested, then grinned, "Sure, a date."

"I mean it doesn't have to be!" she hurriedly amended. In her franticness she accidentally spilled the flour. "Oh drat!" Going to her knees she scooped it up.

Birthday got down to help her scoop it up, "No a date sounds great, no need to dress up though."

"Oh no need to worry about that. I don't own nice clothes." Treat Heart blushed. "I mean I do but... I'm sorry Birthday. I'm babbling like an idiot."

"No you're not, but let's talk later so we don't burn something." Birthday got back up to check and sighed in relief when he saw that nothing had burned.

Etienne had watched the exchange and shook his head. "Poor chere." spooning filling into a crepe he added the sauce and took a bite. "Ahhhh Se magnefique."

"It certainly smells magnificent," Grams commented as she passed his station to return to her own at the front of the room.

"More den welcome to some," Etienne told her while eating more.

"Thank you, but I filled up on my own lunch," Grams replied.

He turned to Birthday and Treat Heart. "Yours is lookin good mon ami."

"Well, thanks Illusion," Brithday replied a bit surprised.

Treat Heart ignored him. "Awww don be sore at me chere. I was jus foolin. You know I value yo' expertise."

When she still didn't respond he spoke to Birthday once more. "Heard you asked her out. Where you takin her?"

"I uhh..." Birthday stammered and began paying extra close attention to his cooking.

Chuckling he returned to his station. Grams shot him a look to which he shrugged, "I try to be personable." He clammed up. Birthday sighed, grateful that Grams had intervened. He honestly wasn't sure where to take Treat Heart that night.

Treat Heart whispered to him. "I like pizza. Do you?"

"Yes I do," Birthday answered. "So we can go out for pizza and figure out where to go from there?"

"Sounds perfect to me." She held up a crepe for him to try.

Perfect Panda had just finished sweeping up the sawdust form his last class when his students for woodworking started entering the class. "How Valiant can make such a mess of this place I wonder," Perfect shook his head as he dumped the last of the sawdust into the bin.

Grumpy came in and took his usual seat in the back. His hood was up and eyes cast down. Soon after him came Brave Heart and Lotsa Heart.

Perfect nodded to Grumpy, "Good to see you, Grumpy Bear. How are you feeling today?" he asked.

He shrugged. "Fine."

"Well remember to take off your hoodie if you use the table saw," Perfect said. "Same old Grumpy." He turned to Lotsa Heart and Brave Heart, "And how are you doing today?"

"Ready to build stuff!" Lotsa replied enthusiastically.

Brave Heart nodded, "Ready for some nail gun action."

Perfect rolled his eyes, "Well that's good. Just don't forget your goggles this time." Perfect returned to his desk as the rest of the class arrived. "Well today we're going to start on your shelving units. You're free to choose the size and number of shelves but remember the projects are all due on the same day and you need to leave your stuff here so don't go overboard."

Grumpy waited for all the others to grab their supplies. In the meantime he worked on a drawing in his notebook. Perfect noted Grumpy's actions and watched as the rest of the class grabbed their safety goggles as he grabbed his assignment sheets. "Now on the sheet are some basic diagrams and measurements for shelves of various sizes, though if you wish you may create your own diagram," he said as he passed out the sheets to his students.

When Brave Heart got his he turned it around a few times. "Dag nab it! I can never make heads or tails of these things."

Chuckling Lotsa turned it right way up for Brave Heart, "Try starting with the words and numbers right side up."

"Yeah I guess that makes sense." He gave an embarrassed laugh.

Perfect nodded, "Well decide on the number of shelves and get started." He pointed to the piles of wood set aside for the students, "Find boards of the right size to cut down for your shelves. Or if you want todesign your own shelf first then keep on it."

Brave Heart went to grab enough wood to make three shelves and Lotsa grabbed four. As they sat down Grumpy got his, removing his hood as he did so. He spent some time looking the wood over, checking grain quality, length, weight, and durability.

Brave Heart scowled, "What does he think he's doing? It's high school shop class. Not like it's going to be his profession." Lotsa merely shrugged. If Brave Heart didn't know what Grumpy did for cash outside of school then he wasn't going to tell him.

Perfect nodded approvingly at Grumpy's activities, "Now be careful with the table saws, keep your hands far enough away from the blades."

Marking out the length he needed Brave Heart went to use the saw. Heeding Perfect's warning he kept his hands far away from the blade. As a result his edges were wavy. He didn't seem to care however and returned to his bench and began hammering. He liked hammering, it meant he could use his strength and wail away on the wood. Lotsa moved to the far end of the bench to avoid being hit by a miss swing.

"Doing alright Grumpy?" Perfect asked, going over to the bear's table.

He nodded, "Putting a door on so I'm placing the hinge joints." He spoke around the nail in his mouth. His hands expertly used the ruler and pencil to make tick marks.

"Can't say I'm surprised you'd go above and beyond, keep it up Grumpy." Perfect resisted the urge to clap Grumpy on the back, not wanting to risk an injury as he returned to his desk.

Mumbling something along the lines of being able to build a normal shelving unit since he was three, Grumpy refocused on his work. A yelp from across the room made him mess up and he glowered across the room looking for the culprit. One of his classmates had walked behind Brave Heart as he was turning with a piece of wood and ended up getting clocked in the head.

"Sorry. But you shoulda watched where I was turning." Brave Heart informed him as he took his wood to the table saw.

Perfect immediately went to check the injured student. "Just a bump but how do you feel?" he asked.

He was rubbing the spot. "Fine. Just embarrassed."

"That's good, well let's get you back to work," he said, helping the student back to his desk.

The table saw made an awful hissing and sputtering noise and shot off a series of sparks before dying. "You idiot. It's not sharp or powerful enough to do two boards at once! Now no one can use it!" Grumpy snapped at Brave Heart. He was busy making sure no sparks had gotten in his mane however.

Perfect was over there in an instant and he shook his head, "I'm sorry Brave Heart but Grumpy is right. So for the next week you're going to have to use the hand saws," he glared at Brave Heart, who only sputtered in response as Perfect unplugged the table saw. "I'll have to get this looked at, for everyone else remember, only one board at a time."

-

"This is not what I was expecting, especially not No-Heart being alive," Renegade had shifted to his human form and was sitting back against the wall of White Fang's igloo with his hand on his forehead.

"Yeah that one was a curve ball for sure." White Fang commented off hand as he looked over a spell book. "But you said some stuff seemed the same right?"

"Well they were going to school, but some of the teachers are different, and Terra Heart isn't there at all, Gloria seems to be sick and Swift Heart is going out with Brave Heart. This is just not right, I have to fix it," Renegade declared.

"Working on that. I believe I've finally found the right book." He indicated the very large volume in front of him. "I'm just trying to find anything about spells emotionally triggered."

"That's good," Renegade sighed in relief, "But I'm guessing this won't be a quick fix."

"You got that right bubbelah." Seeing something White Fangs eyes widened, "Oy but it could have been worse. Here is an account of a young wizard who once rearranged the body parts of his entire village."

Renegade shuddered trying to push the images conjured by White Fang's last statement from his head. "So what should I do for now?"

"Help me find a spell. Or keep spying on them to make sure nothing too ground shaking happens. Then you can help them fix it when we fix them," White Fang told him.

Renegade got up and moved to look through the book. "There's not much I can do even if I keep watching them," he said as he opened a book and began searching for a spell.

White Fang nodded in approval. "It would be just your _schwartz yor_ too that the king would find out."

Renegade sighed, "I know but I can't just leave them like this. I'll have to do this without him finding out. I know Daybreak and Nightshade would want me to try and fix my mistakes."

The shaman snorted, "Those two are big talkers. If they practised as they preached they'd spend all day fixing mistakes." He looked skyward, "Yea I know you heard me."

Renegade couldn't resist a chuckle as he turned back to searching the books.


	6. Care-a-Lot High Arc, Part 2

Chapter 6

Another morning came and another day at School began. Snowy Heart Fox was walking to school with his girlfriend Share Bear. As they walked he heard a screech above his head. "Hmm, what's an Eagle doing here?" he asked, spotting the bird in the branches of the tree above him.

Share shrugged "Maybe its hunting. Is it that unusual Snowy?" She looked at the bird, "it's very pretty."

"It is." Snowy smiled, "but eagles don't show up here very often." As they watched the eagle seemed to stare back at them before flying off. Snowy watched it fly off before shaking his head and returning to the walk, "So do you have cheerleading practise after school Share?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "We have regionals coming up so I practice every day now."

"Good luck. I might come to watch if I don't have a club meeting today," Snowy said.

"I would love that Snowy! Then you can see how good my flips have gotten."

Snowy couldn't resist a grin as they headed for their first period home room.

"Alright everyone settle down, settle down," True Heart said as her students filed in. They quieted down rather quickly and True Heart smiled, appreciated the respect. "Now everyone we have a new student joining our school today in this home room." True Heart turned to the door and said, "Alright, come in."

The student was a white bear dressed in what looked like a school uniform. On his tummy was a single small heart surrounded by a ring of ten stars. The new student bowed before speaking, "Nice to meet you. My name is Isaac Nielso Dewitt Yancy, but you can call me Indy."

"That's an acronym of your names isn't it?" Bright HEart asked, raising his hand.

"Yes it is," Indy replied, smiling at the raccoon.

"Well, Independent Bear has tranferred from Japan recently," True Heart read over the forms she had recieved, "In japan all high schools require a uniform so I suspect that he will be wearing his school uniform every day. Though you don't have to if you don't want to," she added, turning to Indy.

"We'll see, I just feel more comfortable in this while I'm at school," Independent Bear replied.

"Very well. Now I hope you don't mind but I've asked that you can be Bright Heart's partner for the rest of the year, though if you two have differences then please come to me," True Heart pointed an arm at Bright Heart's lab station and Indy nodded to move to sit next to him.

Snowy was watching Indy the whole time he was at the front and he turned to watch as he took his seat next to Bright Heart.

Seeing her boyfriend turned around in his seat she jabbed him lightly with her elbow, "What's wrong with you? He's just a new student."

"Just an odd feeling." Snowy shook his head, "I'll speak with Valiant and Loyal Heart during lunch. I'll try not to cause an after school club meeting." He gave Share a kiss on the cheek before returning to the lab desk.

Indy nodded to Bright Heart, "It's nice to meet you Bright Heart."

Bright Heart nodded back to him, "How were you in science in Japan?"

"Not bad, though I spent a lot of free time with an English coach to work on my accent and speech so I wouldn't sound awkward when I came here," Indy replied. "So what are you working on, Bright Heart?"

Bright Heart showed him his project ideas, "We are in our plant unit and True Heart wants models of one of the plant respiratory cycles. I chose the C4 one and I'm trying to make a working model that actually shows all the stages of carbon uptake all the way to o2 emission."

"Looks good so far," Indy looked over Bright Heart's notes. "Looks good so far. So where to we pick up?"

Fortunately, Loyal Heart's gym class was the last one Snowy had to attend before lunch so he was able to converse with Loyal Heart before heading off to lunch.

"I did feel something strange today, I'll speak with Independent Bear and I may call you and Valiant for a meeting before lunch ends," Loyal Heart said.

"Thank you, I should go meet share now though," Snowy said before taking off.

Snowy managed to catch up to Share at the entrance to the lunch room, panting slightly from having jogged away from the gymnasium to get there.

"Now Snowy dear if you are tired from a little jogging I think we need to up the time we spend keeping in shape." Share teased him while kissing his cheek in greeting. Together they walked to their table.

"Didn't want to miss lunch," he said, "They don't mind if I sit at the A-list table do they?" he asked, referring to the others seated there.

"Ummm it should be okay. After all, Gloria sits with us when she feels up to it. Maybe just... don't talk about your club?" She asked the last part pleadingly.

"I won't. Loyal Heart might call us before lunch ends though," Snowy said.

Share smiled, "Splendid! Then they have no reason to gripe cause you can say it isn't for long!" Arriving at the table she smiled to Cheer before sitting next to her. "Hello Cheer! Ready for practice this afternoon?"

The captain of the squad nodded. "Oh yes! We are going to have the best routine ever!" Looking behind Share she gave a brief, "Hello Snowy," before launching into her ideas with Share.

Snowy didn't bother to interrupt Cheer and Share's conversation as he took his seat. "Hi," he said to the others.

"Bonjour homme." Illusion commented from his chair. He was laying back haphazardly in it with his thumbs up in a goal for the paper Football Brave Heart was about to "punt." Swift Heart said nothing as she was busy reading over her math book.

Valiant was watching as Love-a-Lot joined the discussion about cheerleading with Cheer and Share. "Well school is as dull as ever, but did you meet that new transfer student yet."

"He was in our first period class," Snowy replied.

"New student? What new student?" Brave Heart asked. His shot had sailed through the goal and Illusion was getting his turn ready.

"His name is Independent Bear, or Isaac Nielson Dewitt Yancy, but he prefers to be called Indy. He's from Japan," Snowy replied.

"Japan hmm, where is he?" Valiant searched the lunch room.

"My guess, he would be the one you didn't recognize Valiant." Swift Heart quipped but didn't look up. Brave Heart was looking too, and as a result the paper football hit his forehead, making him growl at Illusion.

The gator laughed, "Fair shot to me homme."

Snowy searched, "I don't see him he might be eating outside." He turned to the others, "I heard that they're doing a school wide sports event next week, is that true?"

"Oui. Dey callin it Carelot Olympics I believe. Students get de chance to participate ano compete in whateva sports dey want. Each day a differen' one and people make dere own teams." Illusion told him.

"I didn't get a handout, does anyone have one?" Snowy asked.

"Yeah, take mine," Valiant passed a folded piece of paper to Snowy who began reading it intently.

"You thinkin 'bout makin a team fer one of the them?" Brave Heart asked, chewing a bite of his hamburger.

"No team sports, but there's something else I'm interested in," Snowy said, spotting something on the page and smiling.

Share heard the conversation and turned to look at Snowy, "Oh you did! What is it honey?" She looked over his shoulder at the flyer.

"You'll see," Snowy closed the handout.

"Oh come on, share with us," Valiant insisted.

"Sorry but you'll have to wait for the Olympics." He gave Share a quick kiss, "Let me keep at least one secret until I'm ready to show off."

She sighed, "Oh alright. I suppose one secret is okay." Cheer looked like she wanted to say something but she refrained.

Finally giving up Swift Heart slammed the book closed and took an angry crunch of a carrot stick, "I hate math."

"Den get a tutor like Tender suggested chere. No need to be bustin yo' brain out of pride."

"Easier said than done," she muttered.

"No harm in asking around," Snowy said.

"What about you, Champ. How's your math coming along?" Valiant asked.

"Pretty good. I'm not as hopeless as the rabbit but I'm no Bright Heart either. I've gotten help though."

Cheer made a noise, "Yeah help that apparently has taken up every Saturday afternoon for the next month."

Champ shrugged, "Only time it could happen."

"What could happen?" Valiant asked.

"My tutoring session. The person helping me is only free for a few hours then," he clarified.

"Tutoring huh," Valiant said, sitting back in his chair.

Champ nodded, his mind drifting back to how the arrangement had started.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

"Tutoring, you want me to tutor you in math?" Bright Heart asked, looking up at Champ from the book he was reading.

Champ scratched the back of his neck, "If you're not too busy. You're the best at this stuff and the best is what I need. Otherwise I'm like a baseball team in the playoffs with their best player injured."

"In more ways than one after what Tenderheart said," Bright Heart replied. "So why did you come to me, Champ?" he asked, closing his book.

"I told you. Cause you are the best. And cause we used to be friends. And this is the kind of thing friends do. Right little buddy?" He asked giving Bright Heart a smile.

"You're right, used to," Bright Heart said. "We were friends in elementary school then you started ignoring me and it hurt, Champ. I wanted to be your friend but you lumped me in with all the other 'nerds' and just treated me like I didn't matter."

He should have known this would still be a sore spot after all these years. "And I'm really sorry about that. Honest. I just got so caught up in being considered one of the cool guys that I was peer pressured into thinking a certain way. I did try to call you that one time and apologize but when you didn't call me back I figured it was a lost cause." He sat across from Bright Heart.

"I was on a date that night, I didn't see your caller ID until the day after," Bright Heart explained.

Champ's next thought was totally re-routed, "You were on a date? With who?" He smirked at the raccoon.

"You'll find out, but only if you're serious about being tutored," Bright Heart replied. "I'm free for a few hours every Saturday and I can help you with your math then."

"I am! Oh wow thanks man! I knew I could count on you!" He sighed in relief, "If there is ever any way I can repay you, you just name it."

"Well I know that the school's social system is delicate, but we won't be studying all day so we should just spend some time together as friends when we're finished," Bright Heart said. "And when things have gone far enough I'd like to go on a double date with you and Cheer."

Champ sat there quietly thinking the request over. Bright Heart was about to snap at him when Champ finally spoke, "Dude I was going to do that anyway. After all, since we're friends again I'm totally fine with you meeting my girlfriend."

"Good, I'll talk it over with mine, but I should get going," Bright Heart said, getting up. "I'll see you on Saturday."

"Yeah see ya!" As Bright Heart walked away he mulled over exactly how to break this to Cheer. Slowly and with lots of presents definitely sounded best.

Champ shook his head as he came back to the present, still worrying about how to break things to Cheer about the double date.

It was 15 minutes till the end of lunch bell when a voice came from the intercom. "Could Snowy Heart Fox and Valiant Heart Wolverine please meet with Mr Loyal Heart by the roof stairs immediately. Could Snowy Heart Fox and Valiant Heart Wolverine please meet with Mr Loyal Heart by the roof stairs immediately."

"Guess we have to go then," Valiant sighed, giving Love-a-Lot a kiss, "I'll see you after class."

She kissed him back quickly. They had moved onto uniform ideas and she was not sure she liked the idea of yellow. Share kissed Snowy goodbye as well. "See you later sweetie."

"See you too," Snowy kissed her back as he got up. and headed off with Valiant Heart.

"More of their Paranormal Club meetings I guess," Brave Heart said.

"You were right, Snowy, the new student does have a strong spiritual presence," Loyal Heart said.

"I felt it as soon as he entered the class room," Snowy turned to Valiant Heart, "What about you."

"I wasn't paying attention, but I can sense it now." Valiant shuddered, "Why would he be up on the roof?"

"Well high schools in Japan typically have fenced roofs and allow their students to eat up there. The architect for this school had a similar idea so students could go up there to get some quiet time. We should talk to him and see if he's aware of his abilities," Loyal Heart said, motioning for them to follow him to the roof.

Indy was indeed on the roof, seating on a concrete seat that was built into the roof as he ate his lunch. He looked up over at the only other student up on the roof, a green lamb who was sitting as far away from him as possible and eating her lunch as fast as possible.

"It's all so different," he said aloud, "I wonder..."

His thoughts were interrupted when Loyal Heart, Snowy Heart and Valiant Heart emerged from the stairway back to the school. He watched as they approached and Loyal Heart spoke to him. "Independent Bear, do you have spiritual powers?" he asked, startling Valiant and Snowy.

Indy chuckled, setting his chopsticks down, "You don't beat around the bush do-you, Loyal Heart-san?"

"It's an admiral quality but a bit too direct, teach," Valiant said, looking over at Gentle Heart and thankful she was out of earshot.

"Maybe so, but I have confidence about this, so do you?" Loyal Heart asked.

"Since you were so direct I might as well respond in kind. Yes I do have powers related to spiritual energy," Independent Bear said.

Snowy sighed, "That's a relief."

"Well since that's the case, we'd like to ask if you'd like to join our Paranormal club," Loyal Heart said. "Despite the name we mainly work on and develop our spiritual powers here. Will you accept?"

Indy looked up at them, mulling it over for a moment before smiling and standing up, "Very well. It sounds like fun, Loyal Heart-san." Indy bowed respectfully to Loyal Heart then took the dog's outstretched hand and shook it.

"Thank you. Our meetings are every Friday after school, since no other sports or clubs meet that day," Loyal Heart shook his hand. "But lunch is almost over so make sure you get back to class."

"I will, and I will see you Friday after School, Loyal Heart-san," Indy bowed again before collecting his books and heading back to the stairs.

"Saan?" Valiant raised an eyebrow as Indy left.

"Japanese suffix honorific, it means that he has respect for me," Loyal Heart explained, "but you two should get back to class as well. Oh and I hope to see you both at the Carelot Olympics," he added as Snowy and Valiant took off.

Love-a-Lot arrived in gym and sought out her friend proud heart. The cat was off by herself stretching to her toes. She was nice enough most of the time but she had a tendency to be very arrogant and prideful.

"Hey Proud how's it going?"

"Perrrrfectly for me. As always," She smirked up at Love-a-Lot.

"That's good to hear." Loyal Heart had just arrived from his short meeting with Indy, "Sorry I had to drag Valiant away from you, Love-a-Lot."

"Oh that's alright. You are a teacher after all. If you need to speak to one of us you need to speak to one of us," she assured him with a big smile.

"Love-a-Lot dear, its gym class. You don't have to suck up to Loyal Heart," Proud Heart drawled.

That got a laugh out of Loyal, "Haha, well said Proud Heart. Now get ready for our warm up run and remember to keep track of your laps." Loyal moved to grab his clipboard as the rest of his gym class filed in.

She slowly straightened, arching her back and flicking her tail as she did so. "Of course Loyal Heart." Love-A-Lot did a quick stretch of her own and the two jogged past their teacher.

As the bell rang Loyal Heart gave a short tweet on his whistle before calling out to his class: "Alright everyone you know the drill. Ten minutes of laps around the track then meet me in the center and try to keep track this time," he glared at a green elephant who just muttered something that Loyal Heart chose to ignore.

"Counting is just so hard for some people," Proud heart commented to Love-a-Lot making her giggle.

"I always forget what comes after five."

"That's easy it's the same number of boyfriends you've had." Love-a-lot made a shocked face at Proud Heart's comment.

"Is it really that many?"

" Don't worry about it. You've been looking for perrrrfection. I approve." Mentally Love-a-Lot was trying to recount her exes to double check her friend's math.

Loyal Heart just watched as he started the countdown on the gymnasium's scoreboard, checking occasionally for anyone stopping or slowing to walk without reason. The 10 minutes took too long for a few people and when the horn finally sounded they nearly collapsed in the middle. Proud Heart was fatigued but as a dancer she was in good shape.

While they were running, Loyal Heart dragged out the net poles and volleyball net, managing to get it set up right and as the timer on the score board went off. Loyal Heart quickly gathered the number of laps from his students, shaking his head at a couple who lost count, before getting them to sit down.

"Alright everyone, today we're starting on volleyball," Loyal Heart said, grabbing a valleyball from the bag next to him. "I'm sure some of you have heard of this but I'm going to explain it anyway just in case. Volleyball is a net sport much like tennis or badminton, however unlike those sports the ball is much larger and you have to hit the ball with just your arms and hands and unlike tennis the ball isn't allowed to touch the ground."

"Darn. There goes my pedicure. And Yolanda did such an excellent job." Proud heart examined her nails forlornly.

"Do we get to pick our teams?" Love asked. While she made her policy to try and understand everyone, a few kids in the class gave her the creeps.

"When it comes around to that, but for now just pair up with someone and grab a ball so we can practice the basic moves for this sport," Loyal Heart replied.

"I'll get our ball!" Love-a-Lot hurried to the ball holder.

Proud Heart waited patiently for her to return. "If she hits me in the head I'm blaming you. And I'm stating it now: I will not dive for a ball." She informed her teacher.

"I wouldn't expect you too, not on this floor," Loyal Heart replied as everyone paired off and got their volleyballs. "Now the most common moves in volleyball are the set, the bump and, of course, the serve. The set involves striking the ball with the tips of your fingers, usually forming a triangle or diamond with your thumb and index fingers." Loyal Heart held his ball up on the tips of his fingers, "And push off when it comes in contact," he pushed the ball up lightly then set it a bit harder to make his point before catching it. "And yes, girls, I know this will probably damaging to your nails but you're not supposed to use the end of the tips, use the underside where your fingerprints would be."

Proud Heart put her hands on her hips, "Clearly this sport was devised by a man."

Love-a-Lot was tossing the ball up and down. "Alright Love, I'm ready." Proud Heart got into position, bending her knees slightly and waited for the ball to be tossed. As it came over her Head she gracefully formed the diamond and set the ball, sending it sailing back up in the air.

Loyal Heart watched as all of his students practised for a couple minutes before blowing his whistle to get their attention again. "The other move is called the bump. The set is generally used for accurate placement while the bump has more power and height but is harder to control." Loyal Heart put his arms forward and began to move his hands in line with his instructions as he gave them, "hold your hands out with the palms flat and the fingers together the put your right hand into your left hand, with the palms still facing upward, and put your wrists together with your thumbs in-line next to each other." He watched as his students mimicked his actions before grabbing a ball, "Now you're usually going to want to hit it on your lower forearms or wrist. You can use your hands as well but this makes the ball fly more unpredictably." He tossed the ball upwards and bumped it on his forearms, sending it a fair distance, "The important thing to remember is not to swing your arms while doing this, use your legs to generate the force."

"Alright Proud Heart. Toss it."

"I believe it's called a serve Love-a-Lot." She replied snidely while inspecting the ball.

"Oh whatever just give it here!"

"Very well." She tossed the ball to her friend.

Love-A-Lot managed to hit it with her wrists however it did not go very far. "Hmmm maybe I need to be a little more forceful. Serve again please." Proud went to get the ball that had rolled close to Loyal Heart.

Loyal Heart smiled as he scooped the ball up and handed it back to Proud Heart. "Drop something?" he asked.

"Not me. But thanks all the same." Smiling at him she returned to her partner. Loyal Heart kept smiling, noting the swishing of Proud Heart's tail as she returned to Love-a-Lot. Finally Loyal Heart called another halt to brief them.

"Alright, those are the two most common and effective moves in volleyball but there is more than that." Loyal Heart held up his own volleyball in his left hand, "The start of a match is the serve and it's pretty simple." He crouched slightly and held the ball forwards with his arm tilted to the side. "Hold the ball in your off hand, bring your arm back in a fist," he pulled his arm back, "And swing!" he swung his arm at the ball and sent it sailing across the gymnasium. "Just be careful not to hold on too long and maybe don't hit it so far. Unlike the set and bump, which use your legs for the force, here the power comes from your arm."

Love a Lot took the ball once more and attempted to serve it. She did so without hazard and squealed happily "Yay me! Want a turn Proud?"

The cat shook her head, "Oh no. I've reached my quota for group participation today."

Loyal Heart spoke up as everyone kept practising, "There are other moves for volleyball. You can just punch the ball over the net if you wish but it's difficult to have any sort of control that way. Also there's the spike which involves getting up close to the net then jumping and punching it down on your opponent's side." He surveyed his class, "So do you want to take a break or keep practising for a while?" he asked everyone.

The group wanted to keep practising it seemed. Proud Heart rolled her eyes and sat on the bleachers. "I'll count how many bump set combos you can do," she told-Love a-Lot.

"Super! Then you can try."

"Yippee." Proud Heart twirled a finger.

"Well then I'll explain the rules," Loyal Heart said to everyone as he checked over his notes. "In volleyball only the serving team can score points, which happens when either the ball lands on the opponent's side in bounds or lands out of bounds if the opposing team was the last to handle the ball. If the serving team drops the ball in either of these ways then the other team gets to serve and the process continues either until a certain score is reached, with one side at least two points ahead, or until a time runs out, depending on what the teams agreed upon."

The class seemed to understand, only a few had confused faces. "I thought we weren't doing teams just yet?" someone called.

"No not yet, but the same applies to single games. However often teams of two or more are the best set up for this game," Loyal Heart explained. "If any of you want then you can try a few games using the net I set up," he offered. "Or just practise hitting the ball to one another."

Love-a-Lot looked like she was about to vote for a game but Proud Heart's glare silenced her. "Right. Counting my bump set combos." She began bumping the ball and then set it. Proud Heart smirked and reclined back against the bleachers.

Eventually the class came to an end and Loyal Heart dismissed his class before heading to his office. "That went better than wrestling at least," he said, grateful that he didn't have a class in the last period."

Proud Heart appeared in his doorway. "I don't care how good of a teacher you are, you were never getting me to wrestle anyone to those smelly mats."

"Sorry, but you know how Principal No-Heart gets," Loyal Heart said, looking up from his notes. "Still have a spare this period?"

Nodding she came into the room and ran a hand over one of his file cabinets. There was a baseball rolling around on the top that she batted lightly. "Yup. Study hall or whatever the newest term for it is. Unfortunately I don't feel much like studying."

"So I gathered," Loyal Heart closed his notes, having finished writing all that he needed for the day, "So what brings you here?" he asked, sitting forwards, his arms folded on his desk.

Using her foot she lightly kicked the door closed. It barely made any noise. Moving to his desk she sat on the edge and crossed her legs, "What do you want me to be here for? I could easily be a student asking a silly question about a game. Or..." she smiled at him, "Something else."

"I think maybe something else." Loyal Heart smiled and took her hand, giving it a soft kiss.

The hair on her back stood up on end and her toes began to tingle. Playing it cool however she said, "I was hoping you'd feel that way." Taking her hand she rested it on her lap, "But you are a teacher and I'm a student. I believe that is against the rules."

"The rules also said that I had to punish anyone who refused to participate in wrestling demonstrations," Loyal Heart countered. "And it's not like No-Heart even cares about this class." he smirked.

"Well look at that. You have an excellent point." She shifted to lay on her stomach, resting her chin in her hand. Her tail swished idly. "I just wanted to make it clear you are the best guy around. And I am aware of the taboo rules. And I don't care. When I see something I want, I get it."

"That's what I love about you," Loyal Heart leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss on her lips.

She kissed him back briefly. "Love huh? That seems a bit strong for what this is." Leaning forward she kissed him back.

"I don't hear you disagreeing," Loyal Heart brought his arms up and stroked her head as they kissed. Purring she didn't respond. Instead she pulled on the edge of the desk, bringing herself closer to Loyal Heart.

Birthday and Treat Heart left cooking class together. "So, did you have fun last night?" he asked her.

"Of course I did! It was a lot of fun, and that pizza was really good," she assured him with a smile.

"Good, sorry that was all I couldn't think of for a first date," Birthday apologized. "But that new OZ movie is out this Friday. Want to go to that?" he offered.

"Yea! I've been dying to see that! But only if you let me buy you ice cream afterwards. Sound fair?" She giggled as she asked.

Birthday couldn't help but laugh back, "I won't say no to an ice cream date. If we leave right after school we can catch the show at 4:15."

Valiant pulled ahead of them on the way to music class. "Hey," He waved passively to them as he moved ahead.

"Hey," Treat Heart replied uncertainly. Other than Illusion, A crowders didn't really talk to her.

"Yeesh, least he could do is give us some eye contact," Birthday said indignantly as Valiant disappeared into the music room.

"It's okay Birthday. I figure if they don't want to then I don't want them to. You know? I have plenty of real friends." She gave his hand a friendly squeeze. Brithday couldn't help but blush as they entered the music room before taking his place at the back to get his bass ready. Treat Heart went to find which cubby she had stored her trumpet case in. She was a little forgetful sometimes. Valiant went to stand by the drums and percussion instruments, tapping his snare drum a couple times to make sure it sounded right.

Harmony came in looking a little tired. She had a mug of tea in her hand and quickly made her way to her conductor stand. "All right, group. Bear with me, I have a cold of some sort." Looking around she tried to see if everyone was here.

"You OK to teach today?" Valiant asked from his spot.

"My nose may be running, my bones feel achy, and my throat soar, but my ears work just fine. You'll just have to read my thoughts here." She pointed to her eyes.

Treat Heart having found her trumpet smiled at her, "That shouldn't be too hard."

"Not at all," Brithday reassured her. Even Valiant nodded in agreement. He may not have liked school in general but he loved music.

"Is the music club cancelled today?" he asked.

"'fraid so Val, but don't stop practising," Harmony replied.

Treat Heart pressed on her keys, warming them up. Feeling one stick she added some oil to it. Sipping her tea Harmony said, "Alright. Give me a run through of the Spielberg compilation. And woodwinds no going crazy when you hit the Jurassic Park section." Hearing some groans she glared and made a zipping moment with her hands. "Alright, 3...2...1..."

For Valiant this warm up was tedious. He mostly just kept the time for the others as they played. Birthday didn't mind keeping that same role, using his bow on the bass' strings. For the most part it went smoothly. When there was a few too many squeaks Harmony whipped out her baton and tapped it on the stand before shaking it at the trombones. Getting the message the players relaxed their lips.

At the end of the piece Harmony nodded in approval, "Not bad guys. Brass and Winds take 5, Strings lemme hear you on your Guns and Roses number." Seeing Valaint straighten and smile she shook her head, "Yes Valiant I saw you almost fall out of your chair in boredom. You better thank me by nailing your solo."

"Don't worry, I will," he nodded, still smiling and tapping his sticks to the time of the piece.

And indeed he did. Harmony smiled as he wailed away on his drum set. Even the other students in the class seemed awed by his skill. "Groovey man. Very Groovey."

A crash came from the Trumpet section and Harmony turned to see Treat Heart trying to right her stand and pick up her trumpet. "One at a time Treat. And make sure you didn't dent it."

"I think it's okay. Sorry I saw something fly by the window."

Harmony looked but saw nothing outside the glass. "Really?"

"Yeah, some wierd lookin' bird," a classmate from the woodwinds section added.

Harmony got up to check but instantly felt dizzy so she sat back down, holding her head. "Valiant do you see anything?"

Valiant looked out the window. He could sense a presence and decided to corroborate the story, "Yeah, I saw something but just for a moment. It's gone now."

"Well it seems unlikely you all are smoking the good stuff so I'll dig your vibe." Harmony joked making the class laugh. "Alright guys next piece from the top then I'll let you all practice on your own for the last few minutes."


	7. Care-a-Lot High Arc, Part 3

Chapter 7

Renegade concentrated, trying out the next part of the spell he was working on to fix his mistake, before finally collapsing back on his rear. "I think I've been at this too long," he admitted to White Fang.

White Fang yawned, "I agree. We both need some rest, and I need a good nap. Why don't we take the rest of the afternoon off and pick it up tomorrow?"

"Good idea. I need to do some shifting before I get stuck in this form." Renegade was still in his human form, as it made it easier to save space and hold objects inside the igloo.

"And a bath wouldn't kill you." White Fang added before heading back to his sleeping quarters, "Try to stay out of trouble. If I get awoken I'll be cranky."

"I won't cause anything," Renegade assured him as he turned to the igloo's entrance. "I do need a bath," he admitted as he climbed out, shifting into his white wolf form, "first stop the hot springs." He dashed off.

As it would happen, Frosty and his friend Dagger were at the hot springs. They had just come off a two day guard shift at the scrying cave and were in need of a good soak. Dagger was submerged enough that only her head was above the waterline. Frosty was taking his time wading in.

Renegade slowed to a stop next to the hot springs and shifted back to his Pegasus form. "Hi Frosty," he said as he slid in, dunking under and hoping it would get the smell off him. He looked up at yellow pegasus submerged a short distance away. "Hi, I don't think we've met. I'm Renegade," he introduced himself.

"Dagger. And no we haven't, but I've heard all about you." She told him.

Frosty rolled his eyes, "Hardly all about him. I've maybe told you three stories, tops."

"Yeah and Fauna before that," she shot back at him.

"Well I've been with White Fang the last few days," Renegade said. "What herd are you a part of, Dagger?"

"Porcupine."

"And let me warn you now she speaks her mind. Always. Doesn't care how you may feel on the matter."

She smiled at the albino, "Sharp wit and sharper tongue. It's why my mom named me Dagger. Well that and my birthmark but that's so much less exciting."

Renegade laughed, "Well I prefer honesty anyway. Sorry if I smell, been studying magic non-stop for the last while."

"My herd is next door to the skunk herd. Honestly I didn't notice. Frosty just jump all the way in it isn't getting any colder." She called impatiently. He sneered at her. Turning to Renegade she asked, "What type of magic were you studying?"

"More complex stuff, I'm training to be a shaman. Mostly on linking spells right now, to tie two locations together," Renegade replied.

he whistled, "A shaman huh? Well I'm willing to bet your free time is going to be very limited indeed. Sucks to be you." Ducking her head underwater briefly she then shook her main, raining water on her companions.

"Yeah well, I needed something to keep my mind off less pleasant recent events," Renegade replied, "and I like White Fang."

Dagger nosed him gently in Pegasus comfort, "I'm sorry about your sister. She was fun to be around."

"She was, I miss her a lot. I just-"

"LOOK OUT BELOW!" The shout was followed by a massive splash as a body mostly compsoed of feathers hit the water. A moment later a purple pegasus' head broke the water, grinning like a fool. "Sorry, must have hit something."

A brown and cream pegasus landed much more gracefully on the banks of the hot spring. "Yeah, me Pallas." He muttered to his friend. Dagger, forelock soaking wet and dripping into her eyes spit water out of her mouth.

"How the hell do you run into the person you are flying with?"

"Oh believe me, for him it's very easy," the brown muttered.

Renegade sputtered, "Pallas? Then I guess you're Widgeon. I remember you from that whole hunter incident a while back."

"Yup that's us." Widgeon told him.

Frosty had exited the water and was shaking off. "Glad to see Pallas hasn't improved on his landings."

"Why do I need to improve?" Pallas asked.

"So you can land without getting everyone soaked," Renegade retorted.

"Ooooh!"

"And without injuring people." Dagger added.

Widgeon laughed, "Hoping for small miracles." Looking over the group gathered he asked, "Sorry if we ruined your soak."

"We were pretty much soaked anyway, and just a little startled," Renegade looked over at Frosty to see if he was alright.

"Yeah I was just moving into the shade anyway. I've been in the sun long enough." Frosty moved under a tree as he spoke.

"OK then. Come in, Widgeon, the water's great," Pallas said, grinning at his companion on the shore.

He hesitated and Dagger called, "You might as well. You're already here." Seeing the reason in this he joined them in the water.

"So has anything been happening around the Falls lately?" Renegade asked the others.

"We had a minor squall with the wolverine herd. They were encroaching on our turf." Widgeon informed Renegade.

"Ah. Well I hope that turned out alright," Renegade said.

"I'm still standing so that should answer your question."

Dagger snickered, "Good for you. Those wolverines can be so rude."

"Agreed." Frosty called.

"Yeah, and so pushy," Pallas added.

"Well I doubt anything major can surprise me at the moment." Renegade relaxed into the water.

Frosty cleared his throat. "So is this a bad time to mention Red Snout and his new crew got in trouble with the council and are currently at a hearing to decide their punishment."

Renegade sighed, "Well I'm not surprised but I am disappointed. What did they do this time?"

They went to the human world and caused some damage there. They were almost seen by some humans apparently." Frosty replied.

Dagger scoffed, "What a moron. They all are."

"I hate to say it about any of my sister's friends, but yeah, Red's being and idiot," Renegade said.

"Why would they go the human world?" Pallas asked, "There's no one to talk to there."

Widgeon saw Frosty shifting uncomfortably, "Spit it out. What do you know?"

"Fauna had an issue with a gang awhile back, and Red Snout was never okay with how they were dealt with. I mean none of us were really. I'd just hoped he'd forgotten about them."

"Must have been before I was created, what happened?" Renegade asked.

Frosty quickly relayed the story of how Fauna had been jumped on earth and how her friends had been prevented by the Care Bears from dealing with them. "We went back though after the fact and gave a final to warning to them, that if they so much as set a foot out of line, we would be there to correct them."

"I can see why Red would want to get back at them. Do you think they stepped out of line or did Red just go nuts on them for no reason?" Renegade asked.

"He is probably just using it as an excuse. After all his new friends crave violence, and now he can impress them and get rid of an old itch on his back." Dagger replied for Frosty.

Widgeon shook his head, "You younglings and your drama."

"Yeah, too much drama," Pallas nodded his head forcefully.

"What do you think they're gonna do to them?" Renegade asked.

Frosty shook his head, "Nothing. Remember it's out cardinal rule. We cannot harm humans unprovoked. Knowing Red Snout he'll just be doing things to let them know he is still watching."

"I meant what do you think the council will punish them with?" Renegade clarified.

"Oh the usual. Some form of guard duty, forbidding any of them to see each other for so many days. No using magic, no leaving their herd grounds. Something like that," Dagger said.

"I believe humans call that 'grounding'," Renegade said.

"So they aren't allowed to fly either? That would just kill me," Pallas chipped in.

Dagger snorted, "Oh bless your heart you are as dumb as they say you are." Hopping out of the water she flapped her wings, drying them. "Well boys it's been fun but I need to go meet up with my gal pals."

Frosty nudged her in farewell, "See you later."

"Have fun," Renegade called after her as she flew off.

"I hear you are a shaman in training Renegade." Widgeon mentioned to him. He was trying to hold a conversation while focusing on making sure Pallas was okay.

"I am. I've been training under White Fang for a while now," Renegade replied.

"And how is that going? We heard there was an issue with a trap spell in the desert region a while back."

"That was red and his gang again," Renegade snorted, "but there wasn't anything major that happened."

He nodded in understanding. "Pallas you are heading for the edge." He called to his friend.

"The edge of what? I'm in the water," Pallas asked.

"The steam that keeps the water warm comes out from there." Widgeon informed him. "It's hotter than the water."

"Ooooh, I see," Pallas stepped in the opposite direction he had been going.

"So what have you been doing, Frosty?" Renegade asked.

"Not much. Talking with Thunder about things mostly. We are trying to find a solution to all the problems in our circle." His face fell, making him look older and weary. "There's been a lot of changes we've had to get used to."

"Yeah," Renegade nodded too.

"What changes?" Pallas asked.

"Fauna's death, the portal being sealed, Blue shutting himself up in the caves, and now Red joining that gang," Renegade stared at Pallas, wondering how he had missed all of that.

Widgeon sighed, "I heard about the Kingsire locking himself away. He handled the Hunter situation so well we wondered if he did in fact have a weakness. I was sorry to see he did."

"Blue needs time. He's always needed that. After he sorts through things in his head he'll be more receptive to us." Frosty assured him.

"Most of us," Renegade sighed, "I'm pretty sure he's not going to be able to spend time around me so easily."

"Why not?" Pallas asked.

"I was created as Fauna's clone. Even though I'm my own person I still look and smell enough like her that just being near me would probably bother him," Renegade replied.

Frosty shook his head, "Renegade. Do you remember when Fauna first met you? How she couldn't stand to be around you?"

"Well I was trying to kill her, it's understandable," Renegade replied.

"Right. But then she saw passed all that. Saw passed the fact you were basically made to kill her. That turning point was when she realized you were the last link to what she had lost. You were another part of her mom and dad. Blue will realize that too."

"I thought Red realized that too when he told me so a while ago, then just a few days ago he shouted me down for never deserving to exist." Renegade's face fell.

"Red Snout...he's complicated." Frosty told him. "It's hard to explain without me telling you things you shouldn't hear from me."

"Because you don't know how to say them?" Pallas asked.

"Why's that?" Renegade asked, ignoring Pallas.

"My guess would be he wouldn't like it."

Nodding to Widgeon Frosty added, "Knowing Red Snout as you do, how do you think he'd react to hearing I've been sharing his personal information with the world?"

"Point taken," Renegade said.

"That seems to be a trait among you wolves." Widgeon stated. Frosty gave him a look, "We trust our pack. Pack is family. Beyond that we need no one."

Renegade was about to say something but thought against it and instead turned to Widgeon. "So what did you have planned for the day? I'm just going to relax before I go back to my training."

"We were heading to our herd lands before dingus here crashed!" Widgeon replied.

"Mind if I join you. I should get around more," Renegade replied.

"Sure, the more the merrier!" Pallas said.

"What about you Frosty?" Renegade turned to the albino.

"I'm afraid I must decline. There isn't enough tree cover for me all the way up there."

"Your loss," Pallas said, climbing out of the pool and shaking his wings dry.

"Alright, Frosty. Well have fun today, I'll stop by on my way back to White Fang's," Renegade said, as he followed Pallas out of the pool.

Frosty nodded to Renegade. Widgeon took to the air, "Yea I am sure you are so Sorry to be missing this." He commented while looking at Pallas.

Frosty grinned "Heartbroken. Really. "

"I'm getting a bad feeling about this," Renegade said.

"Do you feel sick?" Pallas asked.

"Not quite."

"About your friend Red Snout?" Widgeon queeried.

"No, about why Frosty doesn't want to come, but yeah about Red Snout too," Renegade spread his wings and shook them to clear the water from them.

Shrugging Widgeon replied, "It's not so odd. He really shouldn't be out in the open with his condition." Pallas did a fancy turn over head and almost crashed into them. Grumbling he continued, "And not everyone has the patience to deal with him."

"Yeah, that's what I meant," Renegade said. "Well lead on Widgeon."

"Funny I thought I already was," he muttered as they flew.

It only took about 10 minutes to reach the golden eagle nesting grounds.

"Welcome to our home," Pallas said, landing on a plateau. "What do you think."

"Very high up, it's nice," Renegade said as he landed next to Pallas.

"Yeah it suits us." Widgeon replied. "It's quiet up here but we can see things going on all around. So it's good if you're nosy."

"You like spying on everyone?" Renegade asked.

"I like knowing when drama is around so I can avoid it," he replied tartly.

"I love drama, it's so fun to watch and listen too," Pallas spoke up.

"You seem to be made of it," Renegade observed.

"He does attract it. And it's amazing how easily he gets out of it too.

Pallas nodded "Yeah I have dumb luck!" he stated proudly.

"I'm not gonna touch that one," Renegade laughed. "So do either of you have a girlfriend?"

"No and I don't imagine I will anytime soon." Widgeon told him.

"Why's that?" Renegade asked.

"Oh, Widgeon doesn't like girls," Pallas said.

"It's not that I don't like girls, dummy. I'm just not interested in making one my mate. I have lots of friends who are girls." He corrected Pallas.

"That's what I meant," Pallas said.

"So wait, you're a guy who likes guys?" Renegade seemed to be rolling the idea around in his head and he closed his eyes, struggling to process what he had just heard. When he opened them again he was cross-eyed.

Unable to help himself Widgeon laughed at Renegade's face. "Clearly you've never experienced something like this before. Alright so sometimes it is not uncommon for two members of the same sex to be romantically attracted to each other."

"Ahh, OK," Renegade said, shaking his head and getting his eyes reoriented.

"You don't have a problem with that do you?" Pallas asked.

"No, it's just… well yeah it's new to me and I'm not even a year old so I'm learning crazy new stuff every day," Renegade replied.

"Oooh! OK then." Pallas grinned.

New is refreshing. It's been a long time since we've had a new foal in our herd," Widgeon told him, taking a moment to preen a loose feather sticking out of Pallas's wing.

"Your herd? Do you mean me?" Renegade sounded confused.

Shaking his head Widgeon clarified, "No. You are White wolf if I am not mistaken. I merely meant our herd has not had a new person added to it. And the chance to speak to someone new to our ways is intriguing."

"Yeah, cause you're like a baby," Pallas grinned.

"Ahh, OK. So what else is there to see around here?" Renegade asked.

"Just look around." He spread his wing to show off the view of the Falls. Almost every region could be seen from their position.

"Cool," Renegade was somewhat awed. "What's a good place to start?"

Widgeon didn't say anything for a minute. He just looked Renegade over. "You aren't used to making your own decisions are you? People are always telling you what to do and how to think?"

"Yeah well... I wasn't made to have free will so it's hard just going and doing something. Not to mention I don't know enough to just pick where I go and what I do most times," Renegade said.

"Fauna did that. All the time. She would always be running all over the place here."

Widgeon nodded in agreement with Pallas. "Yes she was very seize the day. But I suppose that if you need direction, start in the jungle. You've already seen the arctic and desert region."

"Sounds good. Is there anything in the falls that isn't safe to eat?" Renegade asked.

"That depends on how you define 'safe'," Widgeon said.

"Well, let's just say, stuff that will kill me or make me sick," Renegade said.

"Of course. There are some plants you shouldn't eat in your true form: wild onions, foxglove, snow on the mountain, golden chain, sweet pea, cherries, buttercups, rhubarb, and fireweed to name a few. Basically if it smells metallic to you, don't eat it."

"So your body's diet changes when you shift?" Renegade asked, surprised.

"Might be different for you, since you can be anything you want to be," Pallas said.

"Think about it. I turn from a horse into a bird of prey. Grass and plant equipped digestive system to small rodent and fish," Widgeon explained.

"It's confusing," Renegade said, "But I'll keep that in mind. Can you show me around the Jungle?"

Widgeon's ears flicked back, "If you insist I suppose we can." He didn't seem pleased by this request at all.

Renegade saw his discomfort and nodded, "I can go alone then. Anyone I should watch out for down there?"

"Oh! Widge, isn't the lagoon there?" Pallas didn't wait for a response, "Don't go to the lagoon. That's where the gang is."

"I'll avoid it then, thanks for the advice. I'll see you guys around," Renegade said before jumping off the plateau and flying towards the jungle.


	8. Care-a-Lot High Arc, Part 4

Chapter 8

On the morning of the Olympics day All the teachers had been asked to come in early to help set up. A few of the more athletic students had also shown up to assist. Currently Swift Heart and a few others were setting up hurdles on the track.

"I have been waiting all month for today," she said with a huge grin on her face.

"You and me both," Valiant said, pushing a hurdle into position, "A whole day without classes to just run around and have fun, who wouldn't love it?"

Getting her hurdle up, she found it was almost taller than she was. Resting her arms on it she nodded at Valiant "Oh I'm sure there are a few whiners. But they can all suck it today. Nothing is killing this buzz."

"Got that right," Valiant said, "Well I'm gonna go help carry the shot put balls to the field, see ya." Valiant jogged off to take care of that. Swift Heart continued to setup hurdles, singing to herself as she did so.

Loyal Heart was observing the set up when Share approached him.

"Loyal Heart, have you seen Snowy today?" she asked.

"I saw him earlier, he said he'd be out when the games started, don't worry," Loyal Heart reassured her.

"OK, thank you," Share nodded and moved to rejoin Cheer's little group.

Cheer was watching Champ count out the perimeter of the soccer field. She was pumping balls as she did though so she was still being sorta helpful.

"Need any more help?" Share offered.

Cheer nodded, "I haven't touched the basketballs yet." She pointed to the bag they were in.

"On it," Share grabbed the first flat orange mass and hooked it up the pump. Looking up she saw Indy helping with the basketball nets. "Come to join the sport day?" she asked.

"I used to play on the basketball team back home, Share-chan, so I decided to see how well I measure up here," Indy said.

"Chan?" Share still wasn't used to the weird suffixes that the white bear used.

"Friendly term for female classmate," Indy explained.

"Oh, ok then," Share went back to inflating the basketballs.

"Did you put a team together? I know Champ has one that is competing." Cheer looked at her boyfriend, "Who is on your team again babe?"

"Me, Brave Heart, Illusion, Valiant, and Playful Heart," he responded.

"I haven't been here long enough to really form one," Indy said, "are there other teams, Champ-senpai?"

Champ made a face at the name but said nothing, "I'm sure there are. If not I bet you could rally some of the others into one. I can think of a few people who probably aren't on a team yet."

Cheer snickered, "Probably the ones who can't even hold a ball." She was surprised when Champ scowled at her, "I meant some of you girls too Cheer."

"Well are any of you interested in playing on a team with me?" Indy turned to the girls.

"I will," Share offered, "Snowy won't be around until later."

"Well then I just need two more, any suggestions Cheer-senpai?" Indy asked.

"OK, can you explain all of these little Japanese titles you keep giving us?" Share asked, sounding a little exasperated.

"Alright. -san means respect, -sama means great respect, -kun is a friendly term for a male classmate or a young male friend, -chan is the same but for a female or a 'cute' way of saying that person's name, -senpai mean upperclassman, because Cheer and Champ are in the grade above me," Indy rattled off the terms easily.

"Why do you still talk like that, sports fan? You're not in Japan anymore," Champ asked.

"It's just how I was raised, and I won't be here forever so there's no reason for me to unlearn it," Indy replied.

"Whatever floats your boat. Just know it's going to take some getting used to for us," Cheer told him.

"As for another teammate, I'm sure we can get Love-a-Lot to join in, once she finished helping Valiant and Swift Heart set up the tracks," Share suggested.

Cheer counted on her fingers briefly, "We still need one more. And you know it doesn't have to be all girls. Unless you would like it to be."

"Well the game isn't until later, maybe I'll find Snowy by then," Share said.

"We can figure it out when that time comes around," Indy said. "What is the first event today?" he asked.

"I think all the track and single people events are first. Then the team sports don't need to worry about people leaving to compete in stuff," Champ told him.

"So what events are you participating in, Senpai?" Indy asked.

"Uhhh, the 100 meter, long jump, soccer, basketball, and then the capture the flag event at the end," Champ rattled off the list from memory. "Yeah I think that's everything."

"They don't call you Champ for nothing," Indy said.

"He lives up to it, but he won't win the foot races, those go to Swift Heart, no question," Share added.

Champ nodded in agreement. "Yup sports fan. That little bunny was born on the move."

Cheer pecked his cheek, "But you have that trophy on your chest for a reason."

He smiled at her, "Yeah that's true."

"Well I wish you luck, Champ-senpai," Indy gave a short bow right before the loudspeakers set up outside began broadcasting Noble Heart's voice.

"Attention all students, the race events will start in five minute. All participants please proceed to the race tracks and prepare yourselves. Attention all students, the race events will start in five minute. All participants please proceed to the race tracks and prepare yourselves."

Swift Heart was already there and was stretching her legs out. Brave Heart smiled at her, "Came to wish you luck." Leaning down he kissed her.

"You know I don't need luck. I have skill." She replied. "But thanks all the same."

Chuckling he chucked her chin playfully, "Knock 'em dead kid."

"I look forwards to see you run too, Swift Heart. Knock-em dead bunny," Harmony said, having approached the tracks while Swift Heart was stretching and holding the starting flag.

"Thanks Harmony." She replied in surprise. She hadn't expected anyone of her teachers other than Loyal Heart to wish her luck.

"Don't look so surprised," she smiled, watching the other runners give Swift Heart nervous glances. Champ was the only one who was stretching in preparation to run.

Swift Heart too glanced over at them and laughed. "I think it's cute they are even trying. Maybe I'll go easy on them for a few feet." Seeming to think about it she shook her head, "Nah."

Brave Heart shook his head and smiled at Harmony, "Gotta love a gal with confidence."

Harmony nodded before raising her voice, "Alright everyone, on your marks," she raised her flag. "Get set... Go!" she swung her green flag down, signaling the start of the race.

True to form Swift Heart shot off. 100 meters was barely a breath of time for her. Crossing the finish line she was able to watch her fellow racers cross after her. Champ came second and she held up her hand for a high five, "If anyone else had beat you I would be very disappointed."

Champ slapped her hand, "Come on now Swifty, gimme a little credit." He teased.

"It's not like we expected the results to be any different," one of the observers muttered.

Swift Heart turned to face them, hands on her hips, "And it's not like I didn't expect such a statement from you all. Swallow your hater-ade and move on with your life." Flicking her nose up she jogged back to Brave Heart and Harmony.

"First place as expected," Harmony said, handing the blue ribbon to Swift Heart.

"I love that color." Taking the ribbon she held it briefly up to her chest, "What do you think Brave Heart?"

"Matches you perfectly darlin'," he replied.

"What other events did you sign up for, sports fan?" Champ asked, having come to claim his second place ribbon.

"The 200 meter, the 400 meter, the hurdles, the high jump, and I think I'm playing on someone's volleyball team." She told him while tying up the hem of her shirt. Fanning herself she mused, "It's getting a little warm out."

"It's only getting hotter," Harmony said, "The 200 meter is soon so you'd better get ready, Swift."

"I'm totally ready." Leaving the group she moved to the starting point once again. She looked a little surprised to see Proud Heart next to her.

The cat shrugged, "Loyal Heart said he'd fail me if I didn't participate in something."

Swift Heart snickered, "Smart thinking, a short run and then you're off for the rest of the day."

"That or my ankle could be sprained on the start." She switched her tail and gave Swift Heart a mischievous look. Harmony just shook her head as the others joined Swift and Proud Heart at the starting line.

Harmony dropped the flag and the runners were off. Proud Heart barely put in an effort but Swift Heart once more shot straight for the finish line. "Too easy." She told herself.

"And this will keep repeating itself," Champ shook his head.

"Attention everyone, the Archery competition will begin shortly. Any participants or those interested in spectating should proceed to the side field where the grounds have been set up." Noble Heart's voice once again spoke over the intercom.

Cheer lightly hit Champ on the arm, "Come on Champ, I want to see who exactly is doing this one."

"Ohhh me too!" Love -a-Lot remained with Cheer.

"Might as well see who's participating. Loyal Heart said he'd be running that competition today," Proud Heart said, joining the others.

Swift Heart waved, "I'll join you as soon as I'm done with this last race. It shouldn't take long."

"Not once she starts."

The archery field was pretty much what they expected, several stalls lined up each with a round blue, white and red target down at the other end. Loyal Heart was standing at the edge with Valiant while the participants prepared themselves.

Loyal Heart spotted Proud Heart and smiled at her, "Have a good run?" he asked as she came within earshot.

"Oh splendid. I've never felt so accomplished." She replied tartly. Standing next to him she swished her tail from side to side, making it skim over Loyal Hearts leg. "I'm done right?" She just wanted to be sure. She was still prepared to fake an injury.

"One event's enough," Loyal Heart said, he looke up at where Indy was test-drwaing his bow. "Are you sure you want to do this, Indy?" he asked.

"Of course, Loyal Heart-san. I'm not in the mood for more endurance based events, though I've never done much archery before," Indy admitted.

"Has anyone at this school really done much archery?" Cheer asked while looking over the other contendors. Seeing Playful heart strumming his bow like a guitar she scowled, "Oh yes. The creme de la creme."

Share had wandered over, as none of her events were in progress, she too noticed Playful Heart in one of the stalls and sighed, "I guess shooting spit balls has to improve his aim."

"I wouldn't be surprised, considering how many I've picked out of my hair," Valiant grumbled.

Panting slightly Swift Heart came up to join the spectators, "Did I miss it yet?"

"Nope just in time." Cheer told her.

Share was peering down at the farthest stall, that was obscured from view, "Is that?" Loyal Heart interrupted her by blowing on his whistle.

"Alright, archers to your positions and be ready. Five shots and the highest score wins," he said.

As the archers stepped forwards everyone saw Snowy Heart Fox emerge from the last stall. He was wearing a white robe with a thin blue line down the front and back and one wrapping around the chest. He was carrying a longbow and had bracers around his wrists.

"I didn't think archers were allowed to bring their own bows," Valiant said, "let alone their own robes."

"The robed are fine, and we had this discussion: runners can choose their own shoes so archers can choose their own bows," Loyal Heart replied.

"Shoes are so not the same thing. Could you imagine having to share the same sweaty shoes as the guy who ran before you?" Swift Heart countered, making Cheer gag at the mental image.

Love-a-Lot looked at Valiant, "This was never mentioned in your meetings?"

"I knew he was an archer, but he asked that we keep it a secret so he could show everyone when this came around," Valiant replied, "So what do you all think?"

"We'll see when he actually shoots. I think the robe makes him look a bit silly." Swift Heart replied honestly.

"Perhaps, but it's something he's had for a while so he insisted on wearing it," Loyal Heart replied. He raised his hands, "alright and, shoot!" he blew a short tweet on his whistle. Each of the archers notched an arrow and fired. A few didn't even go far enough to reach the target. Indy's hit the blue ring on the outside, Playful's struck the red ring nearer the center, and Snowy scored a bulls eye.

"Alright I'm impressed." Swift Heart admitted. "Let's see him do it again.",

Share looked briefly at Swift Heart but chose not to say anything just yet. Proud Heart however did not, "You know Swifty. Hand eye coordination is a lot more impressive than putting one foot in front of the other."

Champ looked eagerly between the two, knowing Swift Heart wouldn't let that go. Not looking away from the archers the rabbit retorted, "Maybe so. But it's also a lot more impressive than being able to kiss your own butt. I believe that is not only something you can do, but you enjoy doing."

She glared at Proud Heart out of the corner of her eye, "Among other types of kissing." Brave Heart wisely stepped between his girlfriend and the shocked looking Proud Heart.

"It's more than just hand-eye coordination," Loyal Heart pointed to the archers, "It's about form and body position. See him," he pointed to the one participant whose three arrows had all hit the ground on the way to the target, "see how his elbow is dropped rather than sticking out? Dropping your elbow like that reduces the power of your shot since you can't use your back muscles for the shot, that's why his shots aren't going all the way. That's also why they need to wear loose clothing, anything too tight and it restricts the power of your shot." Snowy fired off his second shot, scoring another bulls eye next to his first. Playful matched him with a bulls eye of his own.

"Look at him. Who knew the class goof off actually had a skill?" Brave Heart commented.

"Most of them are making rookie mistakes." Loyal Heart sighed, "Indy, you're pinching too much, don't hold the arrow so hard."

"Alright," Indy's next shot went farther in that the two at the rim, and the third that hit the safety board behind the targets.

"Too strong a grip on the arrow causes it to drift off to the side," Loyal explained, "and him. Well he's moving far too much," he pointed at another archer who's shots had gone all over the target, his last one hitting closer to the bulls eye than his rest, "He's moving too much and too fast."

"Actually, Snowy told me," Loyal Heart admitted. "He's been doing this for fun since he was a kid. It helped him improve his concentration."

"Well it shows," Valiant said, stepping aside so Love-a-Lot could stand with him.

Playful and Snowy were the only ones still left on the field, seven of their arrows had been fired, and Playful was only trailing by his first slightly wide arrow, every other shot had been in the center.

On the other side of the field Funshine stood with her friends. She waved at Playful Heart and he grinned. Flipping onto his hands He used his feet to hold the bow and tail to draw it. Loosing the arrow his shoot flew way wide of its mark and just barely missed hitting Grumpy. "Woops! That didn't go as expected." Playful avoided the blue bears furious gaze

"That still counts, Playful!" Loyal Heart gave Playful a stern gaze, "Stick with your hands."

"Aww but coach wheres the fun in that?" He called back looking as innocent as possible.

"The fun is not getting banned from using gym equipment and not hurting or killing anyone," Loyal Heart turned to Grumpy, "Are you alright?" he asked the bear.

"Fine." He was still scowling at Playful. "Who's He trying to impress anyway?" his gaze drifted briefly to the A-crowd.

"Well I'm not impressed by Playful." *SHHHH THUNK* the sound of Snowy's last arrow striking the bullseye drew his attention, "but I impressed Snowy can pull that off."

Surprisingly Grumpy nodded "Yea. Didn't see that coming."

Loyal Heart didn't even need to think when the contest was over. "Snowy wins first place with Playful as a close second." He passed the red ribbon to Playful, who then darted over to the other side where Funshine was.

Snowy approached Loyal Heart at an easy pace, unstringing his bow before he accepted his blue ribbon, "Thank you," he said, moving to give Share a quick kiss.

"Congratulations Snowy! I can't believe you never told me you could shoot a bow," Share exclaimed.

"I just wanted it to be a surprise, didn't want to spoil the show," he said smiling.

Kissing him she said, "And a show it was!"

"Well I'm impressed, sports fan," Champ clapped him on the back.

"Would you be willing to join our basketball team later, Snowy-kun?" Indy asked.

"Who else is on the team?" Snowy asked.

"Indy, Cheer, Love a Lot, and me," Share told him.

"Well if you're on the team then I'm willing. But I need to change into something less, flowy…" Snowy smoothed down the edge of his robes.

"Yea you do. Otherwise people will grab onto it and pull you around," Swift Heart informed him.

"These are just robes that were left to me, and they're perfect for archery. I'll go get my gym outfit from my locker," Snowy said, heading for the school building.

"Hurdles and javelin toss are starting! All competetors to the events!" True Heart called.

"That's us babe." Swift Heart took Brave Heart's hand and pulled him towards the track.

As Loyal Heart moved to start pulling the arrows out of the targets he called back to Love-a-Lot, Proud Heart, Share, Cheer and Valiant, "I don't claim to know exactly how high school social circles work, but I have to ask: why isn't Snowy part of your crowd?"

"Cause he's in that wierd club," Cheer made a face and wiggled her fingers.

Love-a-Lot was a little more diplomatic. "Well we all have sports we are into and current pop culture. He just doesn't seem to share our interests."

"Hey, Indy and me are in that 'wierd club' too," Valiant retorted.

"Well, have you asked him?" Loyal Heart asked. "Snowy just has difficulty approaching people or starting conversations with people he doesn't know and before today he's never wanted to show off anything he can do in public before. Maybe give him a chance after the basketball game later."

"He really doesn't understand social circles." Cheer whispered to Proud Heart.

"Tell me about it."

Champ nodded to Loyal Heart. "I think you're right. I'll try to talk the other more stubborn people around."

"Alright. Well I'm sure you have other things to do, I have to tear this whole thing down," Loyal Heart dumped the arrows from the first two targets into a large box.

"I can help. Sporting events bore me," Proud Heart declared.

"If you want, pick up the bows, unstring them and stick them in the box," Loyal Heart said.

"Let's not go crazy now." Muttering she picked up the nearest bow and did as Loyal Heart had instructed. Loyal Heart just sighed as he continued pulling the arrows out of the targets.

"What? I don't do physical things. Common knowledge Loyal Heart, ask anyone." She put her bows in the box and began fiddling with the strings.

"I know, Proud, but you offered to help, and you can't avoid this class if you want to graduate," Loyal replied, finally pulling the last arrow from his current target.

Looking around she saw most of the others had moved off to watch other events. Placing her hands on his shoulders briefly she gave them a good squeeze, "I figured I could make up the credit some other way."

"There are ways," Loyal Heart smiled, "and once you finish this semester you won't have to do phys ed anymore."

"Thank goodness for small favorrrs," She purred. "I suppose if it means that much to you I can put forth a little effort."

"It would," Loyal Heart turned around to face her, placing his hands at her hips, "thank you."

Moving in to kiss him she stopped just before their lips touched, "To be continued in a more appropriate venue. With fewer eyes." She moved out of his grasp.

"Good idea. I still need to finish tearing this down, where should we meet when I'm done?" Loyal Heart asked.

"Don't worry about it now. I'll let you know." Proud Heart called with a smile as she walked away.

"I love that about you," Loyal smiled after her before returning to disassembling the archery stalls.

In the middle of the field, Brave Heart was stretching his arms, getting ready to toss the javelin. "Alright. I got this. I am the javelin," he bent down to touch his toes.

Harmony snickered at his statement, as Noble Heart had taken over the race events, "That's a funny thing to call yourself, Brave."

"All about visualization Harmony ma'am." Straightening he smiled at her. Holding his arms out in front and in back he lunged forward slowly. "If I see it. It shall be." Looking at his fellow competitors he was surprised to see Grumpy holding a javelin. "Huh, never expected to see you doin somethin that didn't involve power tools." Grumpy chose to ignore him and began his own arm stretches.

"Leave him be. It's good when you guys branch out, expanding your minds and all that," Harmony chided him.

"Have I ever mentioned I like the way you phrase things?"

She shook her head blushing slightly, "No. Thanks though. I feel it's the best way to express my inner most thoughts."

Brave Heart grinned at her, "Express away."

"Oh I will, it's why I looove music," Harmony drew out the o in love as she spoke.

"I'm startin to see the appeal." Brave Heart replied.

Grumpy looked at them oddly before moving off a ways. Looking forward he saw the hurdle race happening. Swift Heart was in the front of the pack, but not by much. A horse cousin behind her was hot on her heels. However he could tell from Swift Heart's expression it wouldn't be lasting much longer.

"Hey watch it homme!" Etienne yelled at Grumpy while moving away from the point of the javelin heading for him.

"Huh? Oh sorry." Grumpy shifted the stick to point up.

"Jus watch where you goin. You not suppose ta turn de other competitors into shsih kabob, oui?" Picking up his own javelin he headed over to Brave and Harmony.

"Everything alright, Etienne?" Harmony asked as the gator came closer.

"Frer almos ran me through wid his stick." He nodded back at Grumpy. "Look' like he was distracted by sometin."

"As long as you're alright," Harmony nodded to Illusion before turning back to Brave Heart.

"That guy is one odd duck." Brave Heart said in reference to Grumpy. "He ever say more than 3 words in yer class Harmony?"

"Almost never hear a peep outta that bear," Harmony shook her head.

Etienne shook his head and tapped the end of his javelin. "I believe de sayin is, it always de quiet ones. Best we keep our eyes on dat one."

Harmony waved off his concern, "Oh you two are over reacting he is harmless. He's the quiet moody type, the one only that one special girl can crack the shell of. It's every high school girl's dream, trust." Both the jocks looked flabbergasted by this. "Stop staring and get to your spots, the javelin toss is starting," Harmony chided them.

As they did so Illusion whispered to Brave Heart, "Do you really tink dat every girl wants dat?"

Brave Heart shrugged, "Dude, I barely know what my girl wants."

Over hearing them Grumpy rolled his eyes.

"Alright everyone, get your javelins ready," Harmony called, "Aaaaand, throw!"

With a grunt Illusion sent his sailing through the air. It went the farthest before hitting the ground, quivering as it stuck. Brave Heart's landed a few feet behind his and Grumpy came in a close third. The other competitors either didn't get theirs as far or they didn't stick in the ground.

Brave Heart fist bumped Etienne, "Grrrrreat job brother!"

"Tanks homme. You too." Looking to congratulate Grumpy on coming in third he couldn't see him anywhere. "How he disappear so fast?"

Shrugging he replied, "Who knows. Ask one of the many gals pining for him." The boys snickered at the joke and went to find their friends.

Harmony quickly passed the blue and red ribbons for the event to Illusion and Brave Heart, "Have fun," she said before moving to pull the javelins out of the ground.

Brave Heart hurried past her, "I got it Harmony. Don't worry about it!"

"I'm not," Harmony giggled.

Over at the Basketball field, Indy was getting ready with, Love-a-Lot, Cheer and Share. Indy looked up and asked. "Share-chan, where's Snowy?"

"He'll be here, don't worry," Share reassured them.

Cheer was dribbling the ball from hand to hand, warming up her muscles. "You know what girls...and Indy. I really want to beat the boys now."

Love-a-Lot giggled, "Did the competitive streak just hit you?"

Cheer nodded. "I just want to see Champ's face if we beat him."

"Now that you say that, I'm in," Share bounce passed a ball to Indy, "can't wait to see how stunned he is."

"I wouldn't mind seeing Valiant look surprised for once."

Cheer beamed at her, "That a girl Love-a-Lot. Let's cream them."

Swift Heart was taking a break and watching them warm up and couldn't help but shake her head, "Oh this I gotta see."

"What do you mean, Swift-senpai?" Indy asked the rabbit.

Seeing a spare ball she picked it up. Dribbling twice and passing it quickly between her legs she called, "Cheer think fast!" before throwing it at the bear.

Cheer saw the ball, yelped, and instead of catching the ball threw her arms up to deflect it. "That's what I mean. Hate to say it guys but my money is on the boys."

"Don't place your bets yet, Swift Heart," Share said, turning to wave at an approaching figure, "Finally, I was worried he would lose his nerve."

As she spoke, Snowy Heart came running up, his robes from the archery competition replaced with his normal gym clothes. "Sorry I took so long," he apologized, grabbing a ball and starting to bounce it.

"Yeah but Snowy is just one player. He can't win the game for you." Leaning back against the bleachers she drank her sports drink.

Cheer scowled at her, "If you have so much faith in your boyfriend's team go watch them. Quit bugging us."

"No thanks Cheer I'm good right here."

"Don't count us out just yet," Share glared at Swift Heat, passing her ball to Love-a-Lot.

She didn't respond. Cheer turned away from her, "So what's the plan Indy?"

"Well I play forward, what are you good at?" he asked the others.

"I can play defense," Snowy said.

"Who is our best shooter? They should be our shooting guard." Love-a-Lot stated.

"I can do that," Share volunteered.

"Super! Then I'll be the other forward and you Love can be the center."

"Oh! That sounds perfect for me!" Love-a-Lot exclaimed while clapping.

"So how well do you know Basketball?" Cheer asked Snowy.

"I know the rules, how to dribble, pass and defend," Snowy said.

"Sounds like a real winner there," Swift Heart laughed from her spot.

"Ignoring you! That's basically it. You just need to make sure you don't commit any of the common penalties. Traveling, carrying, or holding the ball for more than 3 seconds," Cheer told him.

"I know about those too," Snowy reassured her.

"So when does the game start?" Indy asked the others.

"Well there are rounds. Two teams go at it and the first to 5 wins. Then whatever team is remaining after all the rounds is the champion."

"How many rounds are there?" Indy asked.

"Eight teams with us so... three. And Champ's team is in the other half," Share surmised.

"Well look at that! It's almost like the universe is setting up an epic smackdown." Cheer stated, curling her fist triumphantly.

"The world does seem to set up such events allowing for tension to build for maximum audience appeal," Snowy nodded.

"Yeah, it's gonna be a riot, watching you guys try to beat the best guys in school!" Swift Heart was holding her side, doubled over in laughter.

"Can we shut her up somehow?" Share asked her teammates.

Scowling at the rabbit Cheer responded loudly, "Only by attaching someone's lips to hers. She doesn't come with an off button."

That only had Swift Heart laughing harder, "Just call me kettle, pot."

"Well our first round starts in a couple minutes, maybe that will stop her from laughing," Indy suggested.

The team easily beat their first opponent. It was almost sad really. Swift Heart made sure they knew how easy it was and they continued to ignore her. The second round was a little closer, with the other team scoring three baskets.

As the final round began, Swift Heart smiled sweetly at them from the front row. "Hope you all aren't too tired. Good Luck." Waving at Brave Heart she blew him a kiss.

"Hey Snowy, didn't think you'd make it this far," Valiant came over to greet the group, smiling assuredly.

"You underestimate me, Valiant," Snowy replied.

"Yeah yeah I know, but this isn't really your strong suit is it?" Valiant added.

"We'll see. Just don't use any tricks during the match," Snowy cautioned.

"With Loyal Heart refereeing there's no way I'd risk it," Valiant reassured him.

"It's not too late Cheer. You can still forfeit." Champ cautioned her.

"Ha! I think you're scared!"

"No way hun. I just know how you get when you loose and I don't really want to deal with it."

Her mouth dropped open and she gasped. "Oh you are definitely going down now! And I am more than happy dealing with bitter cry baby you! Because that'll mean we trounced you."

"Got that right, at least I have my boyfriend on my team," Share added.

"Beating them will be difficult. I managed to watch them during their other games. Playful is the most agile, their shooting guard if I'm not mistaken," Indy said, watching the monkey doing his stretches.

"And Illusion is like coming up against a brick wall. He could block all of us easily." Love-a-Lot added.

"So what should we do?" Cheer asked.

"Maybe, throw them for a loop, change our tactics," Indy suggested.

"How so?" Share asked, giving Indy a sideways look.

"Change who plays what role. I'll move to defence and let's make Snowy our shooting guard," Indy looked to Snowy, who's already white face somehow turned paler.

"Me, shooting guard?" he almost squeaked.

"That's kind of a big risk, isn't it?" Love-a-lot voiced her concern.

"Maybe, but I've watched you, Snowy. You can place the ball almost anywhere, you have good hand-eye coordination, and it will throw them off. Share can stay on front with you," Indy said.

"I can, but I'll still take a shot if I can," Share said.

"I'm willing to try if you think it'll work," Snowy nodded, taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

"So should Cheer and I just pick one of the other team members and just stay on them?" Love-a-Lot asked.

"Cover your boy toys, see how well they can keep up their game under those circumstances," Share suggested.

Cheer and Love-a-Lot exchanged a look and a smile. "Hey! You guys ready?" Brave Heart called over to them.

"We're ready!" Indy said, nodding to his team mates as he moved back to act as defence while Snowy took up a position at the front with Share.

Loyal Heart looked to Valiant then Snowy as he stepped forwards with the ball. Cheer was bouncing on the balls of her feet, ready to chase after Champ Bear as soon as the ball was in play.

Loyal Heart reminded them, "I want a nice clean game. No funky fouls, no cheap shots, and," he looked at the crowd of spectators, "No words from the crowd." everyone agreed. "Alright, play ball!" Loyal Heart tossed it in the air.

Brave Heart jumped at the ball and swatted it to his side, sending it at Playful Heart, who caught it and started dribbling the ball towards their opponent's net.

Champ was flanking him on one side but Cheer made sure she was there to block him from being an option for Playful Heart. Seeing Valiant, Playful went to pass him the ball, since his time with it was almost up. Valiant caught the ball and headed towards the net. Love-a-Lot got in front of him and tried to block but Valiant passed the ball to Brave Heart, who had advanced enough to take it and make his shot. Indy tried to get in the way but seemingly stumbled on the way to blocking the shot, letting Brave Heart score the first basket.

As Champ whooped and high fived Brave Heart his team retreated to their side of the court. Share got the rebound and headed for the other side. At the half court she passed it to Love-a-Lot who took it into the other team's territory. Share stayed with Love-a-Lot as they approached the basket, with Snowy sticking close. When Illusion moved to steal and block, Love-a-Lot passed the ball to Share. She turned to Snowy for a moment when Brave Heart moved to intercept her possible pass, so she turned and took her own show, scoring her team's first basket.

"Woohoo! Look at that!" Cheer shouted.

"Focus Cheer! It's still going!" Share reminded her.

"Oh yeah!" Seeing Champ had gotten the ball she went after him. As he dribbled she knocked it away and made a u-turn. She didn't get far however before Playful Heart appeared out of nowhere, leapt, and slam dunked the ball. He held onto the rim with his hands before latching on with his tail and flipping off.

Indy grabbed the ball, and sighed before passing the ball to Snowy, who had backed up trying to get the ball form Champ. He caught the ball and headed for the net. Share was on it in a second, grabbing the ball and heading for the net. She took a deep breath as she performed a layup shot that just barely made it in.

"Never knew you were so good at dis chere," Illusion complimented her with a toothy grin.

"I'm full of surprises, Illusion," Share shot back.

Champ had grabbed the ball and was on the offence again.

Waving her hands in his face Cheer taunted, "You want that point you have to go through me."

Champ grinned at her, "Whatever you say honey." He bounced the ball low to Valiant.

"Same goes for me," Love-a-Lot moved to cover Valiant.

"You just won't let up will you?" Valiant quipped.

Brave Heart waved to signal he was open. "My gal ain't here. I got this." Valiant got the ball to him and Brave Heart caught it. He almost fumbled the dribbling but luckily he recovered and scored a shaky third basket for his team.

"We don't intend to lose, Senpai," Indy said as he got his hand on the ball and passed it to Cheer.

In her excitement she shot the ball at the basket. It went sailing way to the right and out of bounds. Hearing a giggle from the sidelines she scowled at Swift Heart. The rabbit however looked to be totally serious. Loyal Heart retrieved the ball and handed it to Playful Heart to toss in. He sent it to Illusion who went up the court.

Playful found himself blocked by Indy, too much to make a shot, forcing him to pass it to Valiant. Love-a-Lot moved in front of him and flashed a quick smile to her boyfriend. Valiant faltered for an instant, letting Love-a-Lot steal the ball from him. "Hey!"

Love-a-Lot giggled, "Let's try this again Cheer." Passing the ball to her fellow pink bear she made sure Cheer had a clear shot at the basket.

"Thanks girl." Taking the ball to the hoop she saw it sink in and smiled. "3-3. This is close."

"Too close for me," Brave Heart recovered the ball and started down the court again.

"Agreed homme."

Champ nodded. Together the two blocked Brave Heart from Snowy and Indy.

"We still have this!" Share said, moving to join the blockers.

Illusion stood before her, keeping her from stealing the ball. "Not quite petite."

Indy suddenly darted away from the blockers and Brave Heart took his shot, netting their team a fourth basket. Indy was on the ball and retrieved it before the mess in the middle could break up and passed the ball to Cheer, who was in the open away from the group.

Seeing playful hot on her heels she thought fast. "Look! Funshine is about to slime principal Norman!"

"Without me?" He looked away allowing Cheer to score.

"Game point!" Loyal Heart informed the teams. It was clear Brave Heart and his team were getting agitated.

"Time out!" Valiant called, pulling his group together to discuss things. "OK this is getting nuts here."

"I agree, but what should we do about it?" Champ asked.

"Play defence and let me take the last shot," Playful said, "just keep them as far from the net as possible and if any of them get it then just try to steal it."

"We got de net covered." Illusion pointed to himself and Brave Heart. "You hommes jus focus on dat ball. An don let de femmes distract you no more." He cautioned them.

"Don't worry, I won't," Champ reassured him.

"Just leave it to me, they can't block my shot," Playful added.

They looked up from where the other team had broken up their own discussion of tactics. Seeing both teams were ready Loyal Heart handed the ball to Champ to toss in.

Champ tossed the ball in to Playful Heart who began advancing on the net. Playful wasn't playing around and he easily evaded Love-a-Lot, Snowy and Cheer as he made for the net. The three he bypassed were determined to stop him and he saw Indy moving to intercept him, so he took his shot. Indy changed course and jumped managing to knock the ball away, stunning Playful as the ball went to Share. Share headed down towards the net but found Illusion and Brave Heart in her way, with the other three turning around to hem her in.

Share darted to the side, nearly out of bounds and she appeared to be taking a shot, but she rounded and passed the ball backwards, away from all the other team members, "Snowy, shoot!"

Snowy was back at the half way point and he had a clear shot. Not having a moment he took aim, took a breath and shot. Everyone watched as time seemed to slow down. Illusion moved to try and block the ball but it was out of his reach and the ball sailed into the net, going through the hoop.

Loyal Heart blew his whistle, "Game point, Independent, Cheer, Love-a-Lot, Share and Snowy win."

Cheer leapt on Snowy and kissed his cheek "You did it Snowy! We won!" Champ groaned as he saw her celebrate.

"Knew you could do it, after I saw you shooting at archery competition," Indy clapped Snowy on the back.

"Hey, you have you own," Share playfully chided Cheer as she grabbed Snowy in a tight hug and gave him a huge kiss on the mouth. Snowy was still a bit too stunned to respond, but he brought his arms up around Share's waist.

Finding Swift Heart going over to Brave Heart Cheer called, "What do you have to say NOW?"

She smiled, infuriating Cheer. "You won by a point. That's hardly trouncing them." She gave Brave Heart a quick kiss but he clearly wanted to be left alone. Scoffing she turned to her team "Oooo that Swift Heart! I think she believes she would burst into flames if she ever admitted she was wrong."

"Yeah well, she just can't admit that Snowy's an athelete!" Share raised her voice enough to get Swift Heart's attention.

Further discussion was halted by an announcement, causing everyone to cringe as Norman's voice was heard.

"Alright, _students_. The Olympics will stop for lunch now so get inside and eat before it's too late!" a few less than appropriate words followed, as Norman had seemingly forgotten to shut his microphone off.

"Such a nice guy. We are so lucky he has decided to never retire." Swift Heart drawled. "Well I for one am famished so let's go get grub. Who else is in?"

"After that game, I could really use a bite," Share said. The rest of her team agreed.

In a couple minutes most everyone had headed inside, heading for the lunch room.

After getting their food the A-Crowd took their seats at their normal table. There was still a little tension between them because of the game but it would likely dissolve by the end of lunch. Champ took a long drink of his water. "This is turning out to be a lot of fun. Even the basketball game." He added with a grin.

"So happy you agree, Champ," Cheer gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Com'on Snowy," share urged the arctic fox to sit with her at the A-crowd's table. "So, what do you all think of Snowy now?" Share asked as they took their seats.

"I said his archery was impressive." Swift Heart told her. "Plus don't you think it's a little rude to talk about the guy when he's right here? What if I really didn't like him?"

"You're not making any friend today, Swift," Love-a-Lot retorted.

"I have to admit, I didn't expect that last shot to make it in," Valiant admitted.

Swift Heart made a face at her before taking a bite of her sandwich. "I agree homme. It was really anyone game till de very end." Illusion agreed.

"Even Playful said he was impressed, sports fan, and he's one of the best shots on the team," Champ said.

"Snowy's just nervous about approaching people," Valiant said, nodding to the fox who was smiling.

"A bit, I was bullied a lot back in grade school," Snowy admitted.

"Well, I think those days are over now, Snowy," Share gave him a kiss.

"Bullies are just people who feel poorly about themselves. So clearly whoever these bullies were had some reason to be jealous of you." Love-A-Lot informed him.

"I know the reason, it was a small school and they were racist," Snowy sighed, "they picked on me because I was an," Snowy seemed to vomit the word forth as it exited his mouth, "'Indian'."

"Damn, that's harsh," Valiant said.

"I do believe I understand dat feelin. I too did not have a swell undergrade experience." Etienne told him. "De kids in my home town were as cruel wid der words as der magnifying glasses."

"What did they do with magnifying glasses?" Snowy asked.

"Burned de ants scurrying across de pavement. Jus cause dey could," he clarified.

"Ooh, I understand," Snowy nodded.

"So waddya say? Should we invite Snowy into our circle?" Share asked.

"I think so," Valiant said.

"Seconded!" Cheer added.

"Fine by me." Brave Heart voted.

"Me deu." Illusion added. Swift Heart shrugged "Yeah whatever."

"Same. Looks like you're outvoted Swift Heart," Love-a-Lot smiled, giving Valiant a kiss.

"Welcome to the A-list Snowy," Share gave her boyfriend a deep kiss and he smiled and returned the favor.

"So where's Indy? Shouldn't he be here with us?" Share asked.

"He's probably up on the roof. Loyal Heart said he probably used to eat on the roof back in Japan all the time, probly for the fresh air," Valiant replied.

"I wouldn't mind eating outside every once in a while. But everyday seems a bit excessive." Brave heart voiced

"Yeah, especially in winter," Champ said.

"Or if it was raining," Swift heart added with a shudder.

"I'll talk to him tomorrow after school, we have our club meeting that day," Snowy said.

Valiant nodded, "He's a bit strange but I think he's a good guy."

"You know if you guys keep handing out invites this table is going to be crowded." Swift Heart told them.

"I wasn't saying he should join us," Valiant clarified.

"I appreciate the gesture, but I'll eat in here when I feel like it," Indy walked past with a boxed lunch at that moment.

Share almost jumped, "Nice guy, but a bit creepy," she said as Indy left.

"Are you related to Beetlejuice or something?" Swift called after him annoyed.

Brave Heart put a gentle hand on her shoulder, "darlin are you alright? You seem a bit... on edge."

Her face softened slightly. "It's just something about him irks me. I don't know what it is exactly. I look at him and I get a sinking feeling in my gut."

"I know what you mean, sports fan," Champ said, looking over where Indy was heading up to the roof again. "Let's just leave him alone." Even Snowy nodded in agreement with the others.

The afternoon activities ran smoothly and just before school let out for the day everyone who participated in an event was called together for a school wide game of Capture the flag. At the moment Noble Heart was working with Loyal Heart to split the participants up into two teams. They were trying to make it even as far as skills. That meant Valiant and Swift Heart were on opposite sides for their running skill.

"Let's see, I think Snowy and Playful should be on different teams," True Heart said, directing the two to opposite teams.

"And Brave Heart and Illusion. Champ you go with Illusion and Lotsa Heart, you're on Brave Hearts team," Noble told them.

The rest of the dividing went smoothly and Noble Heart stepped up to explain the rules. "Alright it's simple. You can have no more than two people guarding your team's flag. They can tag members of the opposing team who try to steal it as long as they are outside the flag box. Other members of the team who are not guarding the box can also tag runners from the other side. Any tagged player must spend the remainder of the round in jail. Once a flag is stolen and taken across the line, all jailed players are free. First team to 10 points will win. Any questions?"

"What's the penalty for contact other than tagging?" One person asked.

"Nothing I suppose. But what other contact would you be having other than tagging?" Noble asked them.

"Tackling!"

"That would count as tagging. And I am going to discourage you from using that method," Loyal Heart answered for Noble Heart.

"Alright everyone, the game has begun!" Harmony called out.

Deciding to be nice for once, Swift Heart opted not to move at her top speed as she raced for the other team's flag. Valiant decided to ignore Swift Heart and darted for the other team's flag as well. Snowy was tailing Swift Heart but was unable to keep up pace with her. A few people began to try and tag Valiant, Playful being one of them. While he came from one direction, Funshine and Birthday came from another and Valiant was forced to double back to avoid the taggers.

Meanwhile Swift Heart had already made a grab for the flag and Snowy was moving to block her with three others who had hung back. Still within the safety of the flag box, she waved it in front of Snowy.

"You may have found a hidden skill in basketball, but running will always be my thing."

"I know that," Snowy replied, glaring at her.

"Alright. Just so you know what's coming." Faking left she sped out of the right side of the box and headed for her team's side. A few people from her team tried to block for her but they ended up getting tagged.

Valiant had managed to grab the other team's flag and didn't waste any time as he spotted Swift Heart bearing down on him. Grumpy and Funshine remained hot on Valiant's heels as he raced for the boundary line. Reaching out with his arm, Grumpy tried to tag Valiant. Swift Heart looked over her shoulder and saw a nice line of people still after her.

"Maybe next time guys."

"Swift Heart look-" Snowy didn't get to finish as Swift Heart collided with Valiant and Grumpy. All three yelled out as they went sprawling to the ground in a mass of arms and legs.

Loyal Heart blew his whistle, pausing the game as he went to check on them. "Are you three okay?"

"My arm huts but I can still move it," Valiant said standing up apparently unharmed.

Grumpy was ignoring his own scrapes and checking Swift Heart, who had tried to stand but fell back as soon as she tried to put pressure on her left leg.

"Swift Heart don't try and stand again." Grumpy told her.

"I'm fine I just lost my balance." Trying again she felt a sharp pain in her ankle and fell back once more, with a cry.

Loyal knelt next to her and began feeling her left ankle. "I don't feel anything broken. Probably just a bad sprain. Grumpy can you help her to Take Care Bear?" He nodded and the two helped Swift Heart up. Keeping her left leg in the air she put one arm around Grumpy's shoulders. His arm came hesitantly around her waist, supporting most of her weight.

Loyal looked at Valiant, "You sure you don't need to get checked out?"

"Might as well, if only to keep the teams fair," Valiant replied.

"Can you help Grumpy get Swift Heart there?" Loyal asked him.

Before he could respond however Grumpy replied, "His arms hurt. Don't worry I got her." He resettled his hand for a better grip. The motion sent a tingle up her spine but she just blamed her foot. Slowly they began to make their way to the nurse. Valiant followed, making sure they were alright as the game resumed.

Take Care was sitting in his office when Valiant opened the door to let himself, Grumpy an Swift Heart in.

"What happened?" he asked, moving to let Grumpy set Swift Heart on the exam table.

"Collision during capture the flag," Valiant said, taking a seat by the door.

"These two ran into me and I landed funny on my left ankle." Swift Heart stated wincing as her foot was rested on the table."

"I'm sorry, who wasn't looking where she was going?" Grumpy asked her.

"She never blamed you, Grumpy, and this hardly the time to sling blame around, now let me take a look at that," Take Care moved to test Swift Heart's left leg, pushing and turning it slightly to gauge her reactions.

When Take Care's fingers began to palpate her ankle she felt a throbbing pain come with it. "Ow ow ow. Not so hard, it's tender!"

"I can tell. Can you still move your leg?" Take Care asked.

Bending her knee she easily bent the leg up towards her body then extended it out. "It's just my ankle. Slap an ice pack on it, wrap it in an ace bandage and let me leave."

"It's a sprained ankle alright, no need for a cast," Take Care moved to grab an ice pack, "but you should try to stay off that leg for a few days. You can walk if your fine with limping or if you want to use a crutch but no running, I doubt you'll be able to withstand the pain that would come with running anyway," Take Care placed the ice pack from his freezer on her ankle and began wrapping a tenser bandage around the rabbit's foot.

Her mouth fell open, "What? No running? I have a huge track meet in 2 days! Can't I just get pain meds or something."

"Missing one meet won't kill you Swift Heart." Grumpy informed her.

"Oh how would you know?" She glared at him and he quickly looked away. "It's either missing one and being able to do the rest, or risking it on the one and hurting your foot seriously and missing more," he added quietly.

"Grumpy is correct. If you run on that leg, even if you can withstand the pain, you'll probably be unable to walk for some time afterwards. You might even need a wheelchair in that case," Take Care added.

Closing her eyes for a moment she swallowed her disappointment. "Fine. I'll take the crutches and rest it."

"Good, Grumpy can you grab a couple crutches from the supply closet," Take Care said beore moving to Valiant Heart.

A short exam later, Take Care nodded, "You might have a bruise or two and some scrapes, but you'll be fine Valiant. Yes even for football," he added before Valiant could ask.

"Yes!" He pumped his fist not noticing the glares Swift Heart and Grumpy were giving him.

Crossing her arms she sank down in her chair, "Life is so unfair." Grumpy rested the crutches against the wall next to her. Something on his arm caught her eye. "Grumpy are you bleeding?"

He hurriedly put his arm behind his back. "No."

Reaching over she grabbed it and pulled it into view. "Hey!" His elbow was skinned and there was grass and dirt all around it. A sluggish flow of blood was also rolling down his arm.

"Take Care he needs a bandaid."

"I do not!" Grumpy felt his cheeks warming up as soon as Swift Heart had grabbed his arm. He was sure they must be bright red. Better to make it look like anger.

"Here just let her put it on," Take Care passed large bandage to Swift Heart.

"I need something to clean it to." Take Care handed her an alcohol pad to wipe stuff away and some Neosporin to dress it. As she cleaned the area she scolded him, "You should have said something. This isn't just a small cut."

"Yeah well you couldn't walk. I figured it was priority. Besides, I've gotten worse working on my cars." Deeming the area clean she added the wound dressing and began wrapping it.

"Seems alright. You can all rest here until school's out if you want," Take Care offered.

"Might as well. Since I can't run or anything. If you two want to go back go for it." Swift Heart told Valiant and Grumpy.

"I'll go but you can stay," Valiant said before getting up and heading out.

Grumpy shuffled his feet and looked around the room. "You don't have to stay Grumpy."

He shrugged, "I never really cared for group games like that anyway. I just did it for the grade."

She smirked at him, "Well then pull up a chair. Besides, this is the most I have ever heard you say. And not just at one time, I mean in all the time I've known you."

He shrugged again, "Never felt the need to talk. Most of the people in this school bug me."

She leant forward so she was in his eye line, "I take it from this little bonding episode I'm not one of them?"

He actually smiled. It was small but it was there and it almost made Swift Heart fall out of her chair. "Nope. You aren't."

When the game finally ended, Brave Heart instantly headed to the medical office.

Harmony jogged to catch up with him, "Goin' to check on Swift?" she asked.

He nodded, "Valiant said she has a sprain and she has to keep off it for a few days. She's gonna be madder than a hornet being chased by a newspaper."

Harmony laughed lightly, "Sounds like it, 'specially with the track meet this weekend."

Brave Heart stopped and groaned, "I forgot about that. Crap Swifty would've killed me if I forgot another of her meets. You just saved my ass from getting chewed out for being forgetful."

"Always happy to help. But what are you going to do if she can't do the meet?" Harmony asked.

"I suppose I'll have ta keep her entertained somehow. At Least during the day. I got practice at night and then a game the next day." He rubbed the back of his neck, "I have no idea how to do that. She loves to run."

"You could ask her," Harmony said as they approached the medical office.

"I could. But I should know something else she likes to do. I just can't seem to think of it." He turned to Harmony, "What would you want to do if you were laid up in bed?"

"I'd want to sit back and watch movies," Harmony replied, "and order my favorite take out."

"Hmmmm maybe I'll mention that to her. Thanks Harmony!" He smiled at her.

"No problem, I'm always here for you to offer advice," Harmony smiled back as they arrived at the medical office.

Brave Heart held the door open, "You comin in to check on her too?"

"Of course," Harmony said, following Brave Heart into the office.

Swift Heart was laughing at something Grumpy had either done or said. Her foot was propped on a pillow on a chair and Grumpy was leaning against the wall next to her. Seeing the new arrivals she got herself under control. "Hey Boo, Harmony. Come to get me?"

"And to make sure you're doin' alright," Harmony replied.

She smiled at the teacher. "That's nice of you. Yeah Grumpy here has been keeping me company?"

Brave Heart looked at him, "Has he? Looks like he was hurt too. Not too seriously I hope."

Grumpy pushed off the wall, normal scowl in place. "It's minor. I was just keeping her company but I'll go now."

"You don't have to." Swift Heart told him.

Grumpy glanced at Brave heart before looking at her, "Yeah I think I do."

"It's nice to hear you talking," Harmony said as Grumpy left the room.

"Don't get used to it." Grumpy told her as he walked by.

"That was odd." Swift Heart murmured.

Brave Heart was looking after him, "Not so odd for him. You feeling okay? I heard it's a sprain."

Getting up onto her crutches she nodded, "Yup. I won't be running anytime soon."

"That's too bad, Swift. Need help getting home?" Harmony asked.

"I can give her a ride in my truck." Brave Heart told her.

"Perfect." She voiced as she slowly moved towards the door. Already her teeth were clenched together at this ridiculous pace.

"Well if you two are alright I'll leave you to get home," Harmony said, taking her leave.

"That was nice of her to come check on you."

"Yeah it was. She really didn't have to though. Maybe I'm just one of her favorite pupils."

Brave Heart smiled and thought, 'Seems like one of us is.'

Snowy, Share, Illusion and Grateful were heading home together, Jolly having stayed behind with Cozy Heart after makign sure they would get Grateful hoem safely.

Illusion had his arm over Gloria's shoulders, keeping her against his body, "How you feelin chere?"

"Better, but still not so great," Gloria replied.

"That's good to hear," Snowy said, smiling.

"So I hear you're part of the A-crowd now," Gloria shifted her gaze from Snowy to Illusion, "is that true Illy?"

Illusion nodded, "We voted on it at lunch. He earned his place after dat amazing shot he won de game wid. An his archery skills."

"Yeah, Playful even asked me to sign up for the basketball team before we left," Snowy smiled, "I'll talk to Loyal Heart about it tomorrow. I couldn't find him after school."

"He was probably cleaning up all the stuff from today." Share told him. "But I agree! It would be so awesome if you were on the team. Then I could cheer for you at your games!"

Snowy blushed but smiled, "That would be great, Share."

"You felt good enough to go to swim practice yet Glory?" Illusion asked her.

"I was able to float for a bit, but no big swims. Take Care said that at this rate I should be feeling better in a week at most," Gloria replied.

"That's good, I hope you feel better soon, Grateful," Snowy said.

"Yea me to. Although I do have to admit, it has been super sweet seeing Etienne worry about you." Share said send an awed look to the gator.

He in turn kissed Gloria's head, "Don like seein mah chere miserable."

"Aww, thank you Illy," Grateful nuzzled his snout.

"So, Illusion… you said the people in your hometown were cruel towards you. What did they do?" Snowy asked.

"Dey got me banned from mah school, call me names, ran me outta town, an were jus generally mean. Dey used ta harass mah siblings too. Threw tings at dem. But dat never lasted past de sight of ma mere an pere." He exposed his teeth in a grin, "Sent dem runnin like a cat on a skillet."

"Wish I coulda had someone like that. I lived on a reservation and I was always the first picked up in the morning and the last dropped off after school so no one outside of school ever saw that," Snowy sighed. "I don't remember my family. I've lived on my own since I can remember."

"Desole homme. Mah family de only ting dat kept me from goin crazy. But trus' me, it better de didn' know where you lived. It gave you sanctuary."

"Yeah, I took up archery as a way to cope. I admit that when the yearbook came I used to cut out the pictures of my more vicious tormenters and stick them to my targets," Snowy said.

"At least no one torments you two here anymore," Grateful said, smiling at Illusion.

He nodded "I tank de higher powers dat be every day dat I saw de flier fo' dis school. Plus you all appreciate mah finer qualities."

"I know I do," Glairs gave him a soft kiss.

"Hey Snowy, can I come over to your house tonight?" Share asked.

"Umm, OK, I don't see why not," Snowy replied, smiling a bit nervously.

Wiggling his brow at Snowy Illusion teased, "Ooooo, de chere wanna come over."

"Sounds like you're gonna have some fun tonight," Gloria giggled.

"Oh, I, uhhh," Snowy stammered.

"Oh leave him alone! You are going to make him even more embarrassed then he already is." Share chided them half-heartedly.

"Well, this is my house," Snowy said, indicating the house they were passing by. "I'll see you in school tomorrow, Illusion," he waved as he and Share headed into his house.

Chuckling he and Gloria continued down the street. "Dat homme is one interestin frer."

"He is, he seems more open now that you've accepted him," Gloria nodded.

"Seemed like de ting to do. Fo' all is but Swifty anyway," Illusion replied.

"Why doesn't she like him?" Gloria asked.

"It not dat chere. Swifty got issues wid bein' abandoned. She found friends who wanted her and in turn cared how she viewed dem and dat helped her. Now jus tings changin' an she afraid she gonna lose her 'family.'" He put air quotes on the last word.

"I don't think she's at any risk. I just hope she recovers from that accident ont he field before too long," Gloria said.

"Oui. Otherwise we all gonna suffer." He made a whistleing noise, "dat _lapin_ can get a real mean streak."


	9. Care-a-Lot High Arc, Part 5

Chapter 9

A few weeks after Olympic Day the students of Care-a-Lot were going through their midterms. Stress levels were high and a more than a few people were cramming in a panic. Champ however was not one of them. He was currently smiling down on his midterm grade. With all the extra help from Bright Heart, he had managed to get a B on his test.

"I can't believe I pulled it off!"

"Nice one, Champ. I barely passed," Valiant showed Champ his D grade, "At least I won't miss practise now."

Champ chuckled, "Well I'm hardly an expert now but if you need a little extra help I can try." Looking over at Swift Heart he saw her looking at her own test in shock.

"Uhoh Swift Heart, not good news?" She shook her head slowly, "No. I passed. It's only a C but I passed. Holy crap."

Champ clapped her on the back "That's awesome! You been getting extra help?"

She shrugged and quickly shoved the test away. "Sort of. But I've also had a lot of downtime lately."

"Didn't Take Care say you could go back to running this week, after the test?" Valiant asked.

She nodded, "And it's about time. I've been going nuts! However he also told coach that he has to use his judgement for how much I can do." Sighing she looked at her ankle, "As long as I'm still limping he's going to make me take it easy I know it."

"Well it's better than being out for good. Where's Brave Heart anyway? Or did he have a different test this period?" Valiant looked around, not seeing the lion anywhere.

"He had his geography midterm now. I think anyway. I haven't seen him much lately." Picking up her pencil she twirled it through her fingers, "We both agreed to focus on our midterms for the time being."

"Yeah, well at least you won't be staying in Tenderheart's special detention," Valiant looked over at someone else who had his head on his desk, "But not everyone avoided that fate."

"Well I think I want to celebrate this week-end. Where's Cheer?" Champ looked up.

"She had her English exam. I think I'll make Brave Heart do something fun this weekend. He deserves a break too." As the bell sounded Swift Heart got to her feet and walked with her friends from the room.

"Well Snowy's first real game is this weekend, I've gotta see that," Champ said.

"You were helping him practise after school, weren't you?" Valiant asked.

"Yeah. Snowy's a good shooter but he needed help on his passing, legwork and... well mostly everything sports fan, but he makes consistent 3 point shots when we do practise games. I wanna see how he'll do when the pressure is real," Champ added.

"Me too actually." Swift Heart stated. Seeing Grumpy down the hall she turned to Champ and Valiant, "I'll catch up with you guys later okay?"

"Sure thing, Sports fan," Champ said.

"Right," Valiant noted where she was looking but decided to ignore it as she headed off.

"Champ! There you are! So how did the test go?" Cheer came bouncing up to him. Grinning Champ held up his paper for Cheer to read.

"Oh Champ! Congratulations!" Squealing she threw her arms around his neck.

Love-a-Lot gripped Valiant's hand "How about you?"

"I passed, but it's just a D," Valiant showed her the paper.

"I thought you liked Ds," Love-a-Lot giggled.

"Some more than others," Valiant replied, chuckling a bit.

"Say Cheer. How'd you feel about having a double date this weekend after the basketball game?" Champ asked.

"Sure! I love double dates! Other couples are so fun! Who is it? Swift Heart and Brave Heart? Illusion and Grateful? You two?" She asked the other couple.

Love-a-Lot shook her head, "It's not us. I have a babysitting gig this weekend."

"Darn, guess I'll have to find some other way to amuse myself," Valiant gave Love-a-Lot a kiss.

"You'll see, Cheer. But let's go get something to eat now that we don't have to worry about tests for a while," Champ said. Nodding she took his hand.

Love-a-Lot giggled at the kiss. "Valiant I told you about this days ago. You just refuse to listen. Besides it's just Saturday."

"I know. Hope the kids aren't too crazy for you," Valiant replied.

"Oh no. They are really good. I've sat for them before. And their parents wouldn't mind if I had a little company. I've already checked with them," she told him while leaning into kiss him.

Harmony was in her office relaxing after conducting her music theory exam, checking the last of the tests. "Some of these kids just have no rhythm, or know how to spell rhythm for that matter." She shook her head.

"R-h-y-t-h-m. Used in a sentence. You totally dig my rhythm." Brave Heart recited smugly as he came into Harmony's office, closing the door behind him.

"And you definitely got it," Harmony said, setting the last test down. "So how's the tests go?" she asked.

"Pretty good. At least a B on all of 'em. For sure on that English one. Between you and me, Defiant is losing it." Brave Heart picked a glass apple off her desk and began tossing it up and down.

"Well he never really had it," Harmony giggled, "Much as I hate to say it about another teacher, he doesn't even have a beat."

Brave Heart chuckled, "Hey the truth hurts, what are you gonna do." Moving behind her he placed the apple back on the desk, leaning close to her as he did so. "I can never imagine you loosin it however. You are way too cool."

"Mmmmm, got that right," Harmony said. "So what brings you to my little world, Brave?"

"What a guy can't stop in and see his fave teacher?" He asked her with a laugh. Slowly he brought his hands down to rest on her shoulders. "I just wanted to say I've enjoyed hanging out with you. Swift Hearts been so busy lately it's been a little, frustrating."

"Oh my," Harmony smiled, "You sayin' you want to march to the beat of my drummer?"

"That's one way to put it sure." Softly he kissed her cheek, "I know it's not allowed and all, but I really like spending time with you. And I'd like to see you more."

"I can't say that doesn't appeal to me," Harmony brought her arms up to pull Brave Heart to sit on her lap, "I have lots of down time so there's no worries about that. What about Swift Heart?"

Brave Heart shrugged, "I have enough down time for the both of you. Truth is she's been distant lately, hanging out with a new crowd but I still like her. Heck what guy wouldn't. If I keep seeing her, people won't grow suspicious about us."

"You've really got the rhythm for this," Harmony gave Brave Heart a deep kiss.

Grumpy and Swift Heart had left the school through the back and were sitting on the abandoned bleachers. "You know you can talk to me in public. This looks much shadier to people," Swift Heart said.

Grumpy took a bite out of his sandwich. "Hey I came here to eat. You followed me rambling on about how you passed a final."

Giggling she nodded, "You're right. And amazingly you left out the part where I did it all to thank you for helping me. I know it wasn't easy."

He scoffed, "Yeah that's mild. I all but had to threaten you to get you to ask me for help."

She continued on, "Regardless. Thanks. Because of you I won't miss a track meet." She offered him one of her Oreos.

He took one, "Yeah well. You're welcome. Now you should get out of here. It's not good for people to see you with me. It might get back to your boyfriend."

Rolling her eyes Swift Heart sat on the bleachers, "Oh whatever Brave Heart can deal. I am allowed to be friends with whoever I want." Without invitation she stole one of his potato chips. Munching it she asked, "So you want to catch a movie this weekend?"

Shaking his head he said, "I can't I have somewhere to be." When her face fell he continued on, "But if you want to come too you can. I'll give you the address."

"Yeah! Where is it?"

Grumpy shook his head, "Nope. All you get is the address. The rest is a surprise." Swift Heart pouted, making him laugh and the two to continue eating.

Snowy was getting into his Basketball Jersey and warming up before the game started.

"Hey, sports fan, excited?" Champ's voice caused Snowy to turn.

"A little nervous actually," Snowy replied, giving a nervous smile.

"Don't worry, everyone's nervous before their first real game," Champ reassured him, clapping the fox on his shoulder.

"Even you?" Snowy asked.

"Yup, but that was years ago. Just remember what I taught you and use your skill to your advantage," Champ said. "You make killer 3 point shots so use that, but don't show off too early. the otehr team doesn't know what you're good at yet."

"Right, thanks," Snowy said, "Well I'd better get out there." Snowy headed out the players door while Champ turned and headed back to the bleachers.

Snowy entered the gymnasium as the game was about to start and Share called to him from where she was with the other Cheerleaders. "You can do it Snowy! I'm cheering for you!" she gave him a wink.

"Thanks Share. See you after the game!" Snowy called as he joined the starting line up next to Playful Heart.

Brave Heart was standing in his seat in the bleachers, hands cupped around his mouth. "Wooooo! Go Team! CHARGE that net!" As he hollered at them Swift Heart leaned away from him, moving her sensitive ears from her boyfriend's loudness.

"Ready for this, Playful?" Snowy asked the monkey next to him.

Tossing the ball from his hands to his tail he began dribbling it with his extra appendage. "Very! This is going to be our year! I know it!"

"I'll do my best and keep training," Snowy reassured him as the referee came to take the ball from Playful Heart.

"Alright, I want a clean game from everyone, no contact or violence," he lifted the ball as Playful and the other team's player stood ready to grab it. "Ready and, go!" The referee threw the ball up and backed up as the game began.

Playful easily grabbed the ball and his team spread out. Looking just over the court line he saw Jolly was open. Dribbling a few steps he tossed the ball to him.

Jolly caught the ball and headed for the net but was blocked by the other teams two defenders. "'ere, catch!" He seemed to shoot but aimed over the blocker's heads to Funshine, who had used the time to get ahead into a position to catch.

Now Swift Heart did perk up, "Get it girl! Make those boys look foolish!" Keeping low Funshine dribbled the ball quickly and headed for the net. Laying it up she slipped it into the net. The buzzer went off and her teams score changed to 2.

"Nice one, Sunshine," Playful high fived his girlfriend as she came back.

"Thanks Playful." Smiling back at him they retreated down the court. As she passed Snowy she told him, "You are on the little guy over there. Don't let him get to the net."

"Got it," he nodded before adding to himself, "Just remember what Champ taught you," as the ball came back into play.

Illusion blocked the other team's largest defender, making him scowl and say something less than sportsman like to the gator. The player with the ball tried passing it to a team mate near jolly instead. Jolly managed to block but couldn't catch the ball, sending it bouncing off to the teammate that Snowy was guarding. The one teammate seemed to ignore Snowy and it cost him as Snowy managed to steal the ball and dribbled towards the net, shooting as soon as he was close enough, from near the middle of the court. His shot scored 3 points.

"Champ has been training him," Playful observed as their score rose to 5 points.

Champ, Brave Heart, and Valiant all began cheering him on in unison so their words were unintelligible. Funshine too gave him a big grin before going to block the ball person.

The game could only be described as brutal, as least as much as basketball could. the game ended with a score of 17-3 the opposing team only scoring a risky lucky long distance shot out of desperation. Snowy made three 3-point shots during the game even though they weren't necessary for them to win.

"Woo! Good job Snowy!" Share cheered from her position.

Funshine, Playful, Jolly, and Illusion all moved to do a team hug with Snowy. "Way to go guys! Like I said, this is our year!" Playful told them.

Funshine kissed his cheek "Yea it is. And it's all thanks to this guy." She inclined her head to Snowy.

"OI agree! Yer shots were ace mate!"

"Wha he said homme." Etienne agreed with Jolly.

"Thanks," Snowy laughed, "Champ told me to take as many shots as possible so I could get used to shooting under pressure."

"Good call, nothing like real world experience to train ya," Playful said.

"So who else wants to go for celebratory ice cream sundaes?" Funshine asked. Jolly licked his bill, "Sounds down roit bonza love. OI'm in." Illusion nodded, "Oui. I could go fo' some rocky road."

"Well whaddya know, there is one kind of junk food that Illusion will eat," Playful laughed.

"Sure as long as-" Snowy was cut off when Share darted up and gave him a deep kiss.

"That was amazing. You're gonna help take the team to the top this year!" She said.

"That's what people keep telling me, but I'm just a shooter and they were easy compared to what Champ put me through.

"You were still the one taking those shots sports fan." Champ told him as he came up as well. "And did we hear something about ice cream?"

"Just a post-game treat," Playful said, "We just need to wait for Cozy and Grateful."

"I heard she was feeling better, Illusion. How is she?" Funshine asked.

"She much better. De dizzy spells totally gone an she even got her appetite back. She still feel a might weak at times but dat all." He said before drinking from his water bottle.

Swift Heart smiled at Snowy, "Congrats Snowy. You did good."

"Thanks, Swift Heart." Snowy smiled back. "Do you and Brave Heart want to join us for ice cream?" he offered.

"I know I do. Babe?" She asked turning to Brave Heart.

He nodded, "Yeah for a little while. I can't be out too late tonight. I'm coming in early tomorrow for help on a project."

"It'll only be for an hour at most," Playful said as Cozy Heart and a much healthier looking Grateful Heart joined them.

Swift Heart scowled at her downer boy friend. "Seriously. Normally you don't come up for air when you have a sundae."

Cozy kissed Jolly, "Good game ssssweetie."

Blushing and giggling he said, "Thanks love! Well, shall we?"

"Let's shall!" Funshine exclaimed as they headed out.

At the ice cream parlor the group took their orders outside. Illusion and Gloria had their banana split for two balanced on the table. Sucking on the spoon Illusion hummed, "Dis is good. Great way to celebrate de win."

"And me getting my taste for ice cream back," Gloria added, taking a big spoonful. After swallowing she added, "I am surprised that you like this stuff, usually you go nuts over a single drop of grease or grain of processed sugar."

He nodded taking another spoonful, "Let jus say dis is mah weakness. I never say no to ice cream. Plus it not dat bad fo' you."

"I'll remember that," Gloria smiled.

"She definitely seems better," Share nodded at the couple before turning back to the other girls at her table, the boys had all gotten cones and were standing around and chatting nearby.

Funshine was busily licking her tooti fruity. "You were awesome tonight Funshine. I never get tired of seeing your coach's face when you do an awesome play." Swift Heart told her.

Funshine nodded, "Yup! It was a long fight but it was worth it."

"Gotta fight for our equal rights," Love-a-Lot nodded. "So how are your guys treating you lately?" she asked, leaning forwards and taking a mouthful of her strawberry sundae.

"Jolly and I have never been better." Cozy told her. "He goessss out of hisss way to make me feel ssspecial."

"Champ's great as always, we're going on a double date with a mystery couple tonight," Cheer said, "He's getting better at school, so maybe it's his tutor," she laughed at the thought.

"Well Valiant passed at least so no more of Tenderheart's 'special detention' for anyone important to the team," Love-a-Lot added.

"Yeah same goes for me. I mean as far as the detention thing. And I guess Brave Heart is okay. We're still together." Swift Heart told them.

"Anything wrong?" Love-a-Lot asked Swift Heart.

"No not really. We've just been busy lately so we haven't been spending as much time together." Swift Heart paused to lick her cone. "Honestly I think I just miss him."

"I felt the same way about Champ on the last few weekends," Cheer replied, "What about you and Playful, Funshine?"

"We are awesome! He makes me laugh harder than anyone else in my life." Balancing her spoon on her nose she giggled at some memory. "And he's the smartest person I ever met."

"Smart with pranks, but you two just share that in common," Share said.

"So what about you and Snowy, Share. He's on the basketball team now, has your relationship gone anywhere else?" Cheer asked.

Share giggled and blushed, "You could say that."

"Oh eew!" Swift Heart scrunched her nose and flinched. "So not what I want to be picturing while eating ice cream."

Cozy leant forward, "Wassss it magical?"

"Oooh it was, he was so nervous at first though," Share said. "It was the night after our little Olympics ended, and again the next morning."

"Well congrats Share! Your first time is a very exciting thing," Cheer told her.

"And Snowy learned fast," Share leaned forwards.

"That's it, I'm moving!" Swift Heart picked up her ice cream and switched tables.

"Ignore the prude and spill," Cheer said.

The boys saw Swift Heart leave and Brave Heart immediately said, "Probly talkin' about sex. Swift Heart doesn't like it when the gals talk about such intimate moments."

"Probably about me and Share," Snowy sighed.

"Dude! This is huge! Scoring on and off the court." Champ clapped him on the back.

Playful smirked, "I'm betting this one wasn't a three pointer though. Probably was a little closer to the net."

"Homme dat cold." Etienne was laughing as he said it however.

"Yeah, something like that," Snowy said.

"No need to be modest, Snowy. It's a big step in any relationship," Champ said.

"Ok well. I invited her over to my place and we started watching movies. But she kinda ticked me off when we started watching Pocahontas," Snowy sighed.

"Ha! So not how I thought this was gonna go!" Jolly commented.

Snowy glared at Jolly then sighed, "It's a touchy subject, but in short I think that movie is too glossed over. Regardless I was sort of dozing off from boredom when she got my attention, and her clothes were off."

Champ and Brave Hearts jaws hit the floor. "Share! Our shy little Share?"

Illusion shushed the lion, "You any louder an de entire place gonna know bout dis. Let de homme talk."

"Thanks, Illusion." Snowy nodded, "Well she was different when we were alone. She started teasing me by massaging her breasts and..." Snowy paused.

"Well, don't stop now," Champ said.

"I didn't do much that night, I was so tired and shocked that I couldn't really do much. But it was nice," Snowy smiled. "Then she spent the night but the next morning I was still aroused so..."

Over hearing the boys Swift Heart gripped her ears and all but ran from the ice cream shop. Cozy watched her go and looked at the Boys. Making eye contact with Jolly, he pointed at Snowy and then Share before giving a happy thumbs up. Cozy rolled her eyes before focusing back on what Share was saying.

"Wow, didn't take him long to take charge," Cheer said, finishing off her sundae.

"Well it was a surprise, but I didn't object. Good thing I've been on the pill all this time," Share said. "Of course before then it was just wishful thinking."

"Did he use protection too? The pill isn't 100 % preventive you know." Funshine told her.

"Well no, but he was taken by surprise. But that's all there is to tell," Share swallowed her last spoonful of ice cream. "He's made sure to use protection since then though."

"Well I should get Champ. He said our double-date should start in an hour or two so I need time to get ready," Cheer said as she stood up.

Champ saw Cheer getting up and nodded to the guys, "Gotta go, double date tonight."

"Have fun then," Playful called as Champ and Cheer left.

"Jolly and I ssshould actually be going sssoon too. I have a ssswim meet tomorrow and I want to do a few more lapsss tonight." Cozy told the girls. "Jolly you ready?"

He smiled at her and nodded, "Ta mates. Catch you later!" Taking Cozy's flipper they left.

Champ had the foresight to bring his dress clothing to the game in his backpack so they drove straight to Cheer's house from the ice cream parlour.

"How dressed up do I need to be Champ? You didn't really give me much to go on for this date." Cheer asked as she applied lip gloss.

"Well you need to be in a dress, you could call the place a fancy restaurant," Champ replied.

"Really? A fancy resturant! Oh my! Champ are you trying to butter me up or something?" Cheer teased leaning into him.

"Maybe, and as an apology for being busy all these Saturdays lately," Champ replied.

"Aww its okay pooh. I understood...mostly. School comes first and it clearly paid off! We should be using this to celebrate your accomplishments." Arriving at her house Cheer let herself and Champ in. "I hope we have a few minutes. I have to decide on what to wear."

"I need time to change anyway, and I'll call my friend to let him know we're still on," Champ said, pulling his backpack into the house with him.

Cheer left him through her bedroom and began pulling clothes out of her closet. Laying them on her bed she began to hold them up one by one. "Hmmmm."

It didn't take long for Champ to change into his dress clothes. Knowing that Cheer preferred to be left alone when she was choosing an outfit Champ pulled out his cell phone and dialed Bright HEart's number.

He kept his voice low when the raccoon answered, "Hey Bright Heart, we're still on for tonight right?... Good, we'll see you there. Can't wait to meet your girlfriend." Champ hung up and took a seat, waiting for Cheer to finish.

Ten minutes later Cheer finally came out in a white dress with green purple and black floral print. Green chiffon cinched in her waist and she had a short purple 3/4 sleeve sweater on. "Alright I hope this works!" She grabbed her purse and stood before Champ.

Champ whistled as she came into view, "You look great, Cheer."

She shrugged "I hope so. The excitement of a mystery date began wearing off after the third outfit option." Taking a moment to check herself once more she said, "Alright I'm starving let's go."

"Of course," Champ opened the door for her then got into the driver's seat of his car.

"So are you going to tell me now where we are going and who we are going with?" Cheer pestered him.

"Bella Note, as for who you'll just have to wait, I don't even know the girl," Champ said as they drove off.

Cheers brow furrowed and she crossed her arms, "Funny. That was hardly reassuring."

"Just trust me Cheer. The only hint I can give is that this guy is the tutor who helped me do so well on my midterms," Champ said.

"Oh. Well why didn't you just say so! It's only natural he comes then. Honestly honey I don't understand why you feel the need to be so secretive."

"You'll see," Champ said as he spotted the restaurant and came in to the parking lot.

Bright Heart Raccoon was waiting at the entrance in a tuxedo and he smiled as Champ and Cheer entered. "Champ, Cheer, nice to see you."

"Hey, little buddy. A bit overdressed aren't you," Champ asked as he approached.

"Maybe, but this was all I had that was still clean," Bright Heart replied.

Seeing Bright Heart, Cheer was a bit taken aback at first. But the more she thought about it the more it made sense. He was one of the smartest kids in school after all. Smiling at him she said, "High Bright Heart. Long-time no see. You look very handsome in your suit."

"Thanks, Cheer," Bright Heart nodded at her, "You look beautiful too."

"Oh this old thing?" She swished her hips, allowing her skirt to twirl slightly. "Oh wait! Champ said your girlfriend was joining us. I didn't know you were seeing anyone."

"She's at the table already, she's shy though and she thinks she chose something a little too revealing for tonight," Bright Heart said. The raccoon nodded to the server, letting him know that Cheer and Champ were in his group.

The one seated at the table was the green lamb, Gentle Heart. She was wearing a pink dress with a simple skirt and no sleeves; the dress was tight enough that it did nothing to hide her ample bust and cleavage.

She smiled nervously as the group approached, "H-hi Cheer, hi Champ."

Feeling Champ stop next to her she could easily guess what had caught his attention. For good measure she elbowed him, making him grunt. "Gentle Heart, I have to admit I'm surprised to see you." Cheer told her.

Holding his bruised ribs Champ nodded, "Yeah. I don't think I ever saw you do anything outside of school." He pulled Cheer's chair out for her.

"I don't, normally, I don't like the attention," Gentle said.

"We've been seeing each other for a year now but it took me forever to convince her to come on a double date," Bright Heart said as he took a seat next to Gentle Heart.

"Yeah Champ kept the details of tonight a secret from me." She said while sending him a look.

Realizing how that sounded she back peddled, "Not that I mind! I just have never really hung out with you two before."

"I don't mind much," Gentle Heart said.

"And I understand. High school social structure is a delicate thing, it's not like things were back in elementary school." Bright Heart sighed.

Laughing slightly Cheer picked up her menu, "Yeah it was easy back then. All boys were gross."

Champ chuckled as well, "And girls had cooties."

"But things change, some for the better, some for worse," Bright Heart said, picking up his menu.

"I'm not sure what mine was," Gentle said, trying to hide behind her menu.

Cheer didn't like that. Sad people didn't do it for her. "Well are you happy with yourself and your life?" She asked the lamb.

"I am," Gentle Heart smiled at Bright Heart, "I'm doing well in school, it's just... Well when school began this year I started get lots of attention I didn't want until I started spending all my free time on the roof, even when it was raining."

"We started dating last year after midterms. Today's our one year anniversary actually," Bright Heart explained.

"Well then can I suggest if you don't want attention because of your endowments, that you not wear such tight clothes." She glanced at her menu, muttering under her breath "Or ones a size too small."

"Cheer be nice." Champ whispered to her.

"Normally I do wear loose clothes," Gentle replied. "I just wore this tonight because the girl at the shop insisted I stop being so conservative."

The pink bear closed her menu making Champ groan, "Cheer please don't do this." She ignored him, "Gentle Heart. Are you comfortable in this outfit? No? You are the one who bought it. You are the one who is wearing it. Not her. You cannot let people tell you who to be."

Gentle Heart sighed, "I know, but she had a point and when I'm on a formal date I do want to step outside my comfort zone for a while at least, and it's the one time I appreciate the attention," she smiled at Bright Heart.

Bright Heart smiled then turned to the menu. "I'm definitely in the mood for pasta tonight," he commented.

Seeing Cheer was confused by Gentle Hearts conflicting emotions Champ reached over and squeezed her hand. "She's trying to figure herself out. Don't push her one way." Louder he said, "I like pasta well enough, but the veal is catching my eye."

"Oh," Gentle seemed to just remember that her menu was in front of her, "I'll have the soup of the day, sausage and lentil I think it was."

Knowing Cheer would be indecisive for awhile he asked the other two, "Would you guys like some appetizers? Cheer takes a while to decide."

"I do not! Besides I already have it narrowed down to 6 things!"

"Six huh?" he asked her in disbelief. Cheer scowled at Champ and looked at her menu once again.

"Sure, the garlic bread sticks look good," Gentle said.

"Mozerella and tomatoes too." Cheer added. Nodding Champ called the waiter over and placed the order.

Turning to Gentle Heart he asked, "So Gentle how did your finals go? I only passed because of Bright Heart."

"Cs and Bs mostly, but I got an A in English and art," Gentle replied.

"She's too shy to admit it but Gentle Heart wants to write graphic novels when she gets older," Bright Heart added.

"Oh that's...interesting." Cheer commented before sipping from her water glass. "I'm afraid I don't know much about graphic novels."

"It's just what people call comic books that they want to be taken seriously," Gentle Heart said, "they're really no different."

"Oh. Well I don't really read comics so I wouldn't know much about them either." Taking a bite of her breadstick Cheer continued, "But I hope it all works out for you. I myself have been busy getting our cheerleaders to nationals. It's been rough, there has been some intense competition."

"I hope everything works out alright now," Gentle said as the basket of garlic bread sticks came.

Champ glanced at Bright Heart. He thought the girls were getting along okay, but he wasn't sure. "So Bright Heart, do you have any new projects in the works?"

"Nothing major lately, I don't like to take on projects around mid-term time. I need my sleep when tests are coming," Bright Heart replied.

"Oh so you do sleep. I heard a rumor for a while that you were a robot." Cheer told him in teasing.

"I get that a lot," Bright Heart chuckled.

"It's not all that surprising little buddy. When you start solving a math problem I don't think even an atomic bomb going off would snap you out of it."

"Well there are some things that can snap him out of it," Gentle Heart giggled.

"I bet they are along the same line of things I use to get Champ to stop watching a game."

"Awww Cheer, they don't need to know that." He muttered embarrassed making his girlfriend giggle.

"Probably," Gentle replied, taking one of the bread sticks and munching on it.

"Oh! I know what I want! Quick lets order before I change my mind." Cheer announced looking around for their waiter. Shaking his head Champ gave her knee a squeeze under the table.

"So what are you getting?" Gentle Heart asked.

"Shrimp fettuccini alfredo." Cheer told her. "It looks so creamy and good in the picture."

"I like seafood sometimes," Gentle replied.

"So how's your team doing, Champ?" Bright Heart asked.

"Meh, okay. We need to redo some of the special teams. And we have a lot of freshmen to get assimilated." He responded. "It's like for every game we win we lose just as badly the next time."

"Ouch! I heard that Snowy was doing great in the basketball team though," Bright Heart tried to get the topic on something more pleasant.

"Yeah! He totally kicked butt tonight! His three pointers are what won the game."

"His persona was what the team needed. It'll balance the spontaneity of Funshine and Playful, and take the pressure off some of the defensive players." Cheer said. Gentle and Bright Heart gave her surprised looks, "Yes I know things! You pick up strategy cheering for all these sports."

"Like how I picked up a bunch of technobabble just watching Bright Heart work," Gentle Heart giggled.

"It's not babble, it's real stuff," Bright Heart's head fell.

"Oh don't be so sensitive. Champ Babbles too Bright Heart."

"I guess it's something all guys have in common," Gentle Heart giggled.

"So what did you mean when you said you started getting unwanted attention this year, Gentle Heart?" Cheer asked.

"Oh well..." Gentle fidgeted but spoke up before anyone could tell her she didn't have to. "Up until last summer I was actually flat chested and about a foot shorter than I am right now. The doctor said that I was just hitting puberty late and when summer came I got what could only be called a massive growth spurt."

"That happens to all of us."

"Yeah I totally remember when Cheer got her boobs! It was awesome!"

Cheer chucked her breadstick at him. "Oh my god Champ! Subtle much!"

Turning to Gentle however she said, "Boys are going to look. They can't help their hormones any more then we can stop our chests from growing."

"Yeah, that's why I started wearing baggy clothes to school and going up to the roof. I was so unnoticed before that no one could accept that I had a boyfriend, and they ignored Bright Heart when he tried to step in," Gentle Heart replied.

"More like I got shoved aside, often literally," Bright Heart said.

"Some people can be such jerks. Next time they bug you guys like that come get one of us. We will set them straight." Cheer offered the breadsticks to the other couple, "I do not tolerate bullying."

"Thanks Cheer, if it comes up I will," Gentle Heart smiled.

"And stop eating on the roof! I'm sure Bright Heart would like you to be with him in the cafeteria," she added.

"I really would," Bright Heart said.

"Alright, especially since that new guy is eating up there, it's not as private as it used to be," Gentle Heart nodded.

"Oh Indy? Yeah I heard he was up there," Champ told her. "What does he do?"

"He just eats, and the other paranormal guys are meeting up there sometimes too," Gentle replied. At that moment the server came with their food.

"Great, I was getting hungry." Bright Heart's food was just fusilli pasta with a meat sauce on top.

"Me too little buddy." He couldn't help but smile. He really had missed the raccoon over the years. The fact that Cheer seemed to be getting along with him lifted a weight off his shoulders. Now he wouldn't have to avoid anyone.

"Well. To old and new friendships then," Bright Heart raised his glass of orange juice for a toast.

"Cheers to that." Cheer said, giggling at her own pun. The others laughed too before taking a drink.


	10. Care-a-Lot High Arc, Part 6

Chapter 10

Renegade had conjured a complex three dimensional grid in mid-air in front of him. "So this is a reality map?" he asked, looking over to White Fang, "And I have to find where my magic changed things and try to pull the Kingdom of Caring back to where it was before?"

"That's what the book said." Glancing up at the grid, White Fang squinted at it briefly and returned his attention to the page. "Apparently any diverging lines are the ones you have to straighten out."

"And trying to figure out which ones diverge is the first challenge, and then I need to figure out how to straighten these out," Renegade said, searching the grid for something to tip him off.

"It looks like you just push it back using your magic. Or pulling as the case may be." White Fang really seemed just as confused as Renegade, "Stupid reality shifts. They can never be an easy fix. Sometimes I wish spells came with an undo loop hole."

"I know what you mean." Renegade nodded and was about to continue when both he and White Fang felt a shock rippling through the area. The shock disrupted Renegade's concentration and the grid in front of his shattered and he fell back, his head spinning.

"What was that?" Renegade asked, putting a hoof to his forehead.

White Fang was already heading for his door, nostrils wide and brow furrowed. "That my little kinderlach was aftershock waves from a new portal being open."

"I'm guessing it wasn't supposed to be like that," Renegade got to his feet and turned to follow White Fang, "I think it opened south-west of here, at least that's what it feels like."

The shaman nodded. "This is not good. We don't open new portals. The seven we have are all that is allowed, for our protection."

"Yeah, I remember that. So what do we do?" Renegade asked as they emerged from the igloo.

"We go close it up. And we see what idiot opened it in the first place," he told him harshly. "Hunters may have been our main worry, but we are not the only magical beings out there."

"Right." Renegade nodded and took off into the sky after White Fang.

The portal in question was in the woods than ran along the south edge of the arctic region. The portal was hard to miss as it looked like a large tear in the sky that wavered between another forest and a black and red spiral.

"That looks bad," Renegade commented as they moved in to land.

"It's connecting two worlds. That's the other forest." Pulling up his magic White Fang began to feel for the portals origin. "Bahhhh this is sloppy! Some amateur made this fakocta portal."

"Thank you so much for that observation." The irritable young female voice came from a dirty white form lying on the ground near the portal. As they got closer, Renegade and White Fang could see that the figure looked like a horse, but it was a dirty white in color, had thinner legs with cloven hooves, a thin tail with a tuft of fur on the end and a spiraled horn on her forehead.

White Fang whinnied in surprise, "By Daybreaks mane! You're a unicorn! Of all creatures to fall from the sky, it's a young shlumpy unicorn who hasn't even grown into her horn yet!" His wings puffed in exasperation.

"I have grown my horn!" The unicorn managed to stand up and glared at White Fang and Renegade. "I guess my portal brought you here, well sorry I was trying to make a small hole I could sneak out of the woods with but I put too much power into it, and I certainly didn't expect to end up in Pegasus Falls."

Whatever White Fang had been about to bellow at her quickly flew from his mind. Narrowing his eyes he asked, "How do you know about the Falls, mostly that is what it is called."

"My teacher told me about this place, I didn't figure out it was the falls until I saw you," the unicorn stood up and shook herself, grunting when the dirt and leaves refused to leave her coat.

"I thought unicorns were supposed to be softer spoken and umm... what the word? Demure?" Renegade asked.

"I'm not like most unicorns. And my name is Nova, thanks for asking," the unicorn spoke up to get her voice over what might have been said next.

"Thanks for ripping our very delicate magical barrier." White Fang snapped at her. "Great. Like we didn't have enough problems, now I have to find a way to stabilize this portal, get her home, and close it. I am too old for this nonsense."

"Well sorry, I didn't know I was tearing into here. I was trying to go to earth," Nova snapped back.

Renegade decided to step in and try to diffuse the situation before either Nova or White Fang could cause a spectacle. "Nova, I can show you somewhere to get cleaned up, if you want."

Nova turned and looked at the black pegasus with yellow highlights on his wings, getting a good look at Renegade for the first time. "Yeah that you mention it I need a bath."

"And an attitude adjustment. The elders of your race allow you to carry on like this?" White Fang asked before they headed away.

"I'm not like those quiet do nothings," Nova shot back before being pushed along, literally, by Renegade until she and White Fang were no longer within sight of each other.

As Nova moved off, he turned his attention to the portal. Through the chaos of red and black, White Fang could just make out the forest on the other side. Sighing heavily he asked the air, "And what am I to do with you?"

Nova finally pulled away from Renegade. "I can walk by myself," she snapped as she began to trot alongside Renegade.

"Sorry, just didn't want you causing any problems with White Fang, not while he has work to do," Renegade apologized.

"OK," Nova said but she didn't look at Renegade.

Fortunately the pond was only a short walk away and once there, Nova darted into the water, creating a small splash as she charged in. Renegade stood back, mouth agape a bit surprised by her sudden charge.

He wasn't the only one. Dagger, Frosty, and a few other Pegasus he didn't know were also milling around the pond. Dagger appeared to have just come out of the water and had seen Nova go diving in. "She being chased by a swarm of bees or something?"

"Not exactly," Renegade said as he approached, sliding in more carefully as Nova surfaced, shaking her head.

"Ugg finally," she sighed, "that stuff was starting to itch."

Frosty's jaw fell open. "Is she? Dagg are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

She nodded, "I thiiiiink? Is that a growth or a horn on her head Renegade?"

"She's-" Renegade was cut off by Nova.

"Yes I'm a unicorn, the horn is real. My name is Nova," she quickly introduced herself.

Dagger moved in closer to look her over. "How on earth did you get here?"

"I botched a spell that was supposed to get me to earth," Nova replied.

"White Fang's trying to fix the tear she made," Renegade replied as he carefully waded into the water.

Frosty laughed, "Why are so many spells going awry lately. I just really can't believe she's here! I can't wait to tell..." His laughter stopped and his face fell.

Dagger swooped in to cover it up, "Why were you going to earth? I thought the unicorns liked you guys traveling just as much as our council did."

"They do, so I think that answers your question," Nova replied. She shook her head, "sorry, still reeling from the shock of being in pegasusland."

"Oh yeah sure. That's probably going to happen." Dagger told her. Seeing Renegade standing idly by she snapped at him, "Form a sentence Renegade. Crimeny. You are not fulfilling your duties as Nova's tour guide."

"Oh right," Renegade shook his head, "Well I could show you around, but we'd have to go on foot."

"Right. I think I'll finish cleaning off," Nova was staring at Dagger as she dried off on the edge of the pond.

"Your eyeballs stuck honey? Or do I have something stuck to my face?" She looked quickly in the pond water to check her reflection.

"I've just never seen a live pegasus before today," Nova replied.

"Oh, so you're just curious?" Renegade asked.

"No, I'm jealous," Nova said.

"Jealous?" Dagger asked to clarify.

"What do you have to be jealous about?" Frosty wanted to know.

Nova sighed, "You. Your strength and stamina. You haven't seen unicorns before so I'll try to make it clear." Nova swam to the edge the got up on land, letting the rest of the pegasus see the kind of build her body had, slimmer legs and body and thinner tail and overall a look of frailty that stopped at her face. Now that her fur was clean they could see that it was actually silver and not pure white. "Unicorns are known for magic but we're physically weak. I don't want to be a frail wake little... thing when I grow up. I mean Renegade didn't even have to try to push me away from White Fang before I could start an international incident. You guys are just stronger and I wish I could be that way naturally."

Dagger smirked, "Yeah I guess that's a reason to be jealous. I would hate being a weakling."

"I'm not a weakling!" Nova blurted out. "I'm not going to be when I get older. I'm going to get stronger but I can't by just wandering around that so peaceful it drives me insane forest."

"So you were going to earth to find a way to make yourself stronger?" Frosty asked.

"Anywhere I could run around and get some real exercise, or eat something to get some muscle on my bones," Nova said.

"Well you could spend time here in the falls," Renegade offered.

"Yeah I mean that may help you out. You would be the first outsider to live here. Of course you'd have to get permission from the Kingsire." Dagger looked to Renegade, "And I'd clear it with White Fang."

"Yeah well maybe wait till he's done mending that big tear, Dagger," Renegade said.

"I'd appreciate that. Though I should probably change into something that's better suited to getting around here," Nova said.

"You can transform too?" Renegade asked.

"It's a magical self-targeted polymorph spell that I learned in my training, not something natural I was born with," Nova clarified.

Frosty began laughing. When it was clear he wasn't stopping anytime soon, Dagger kicked him lightly, "Frosty you sound like a hyena. What is your problem?"

"This is just too ridiculous. Ren is minding his own business when all of a sudden a girl his age, who is studying magic, and knows how to shapeshift, literally falls from the sky."

"Huh what?" Renegade was a bit confused.

"I didn't fall from the sky, I fell through a portal," Nova said a bit ticked by the comparison that was being levied at her.

"A portal that was resultant from a screwed up spell." He once more began giggling.

Shaking her head at him Dagger told Nova, "He's an albino. They tend to run a little sick in the head."

"Is Frosty a hyena?" Nova asked.

"No, he's a white wolf," Renegade replied.

Getting himself under control, Frosty sighed. "Forgive me Nova. I've just never been a part of a fairy tale quite like this."

"Well pardon me for having a magical horn on my head instead of wings, although," her horn glowed for an instant and a ball of mud lifted up and flung itself at Frosty's side, "There are benefits to that."

Dagger snorted in mirth as Frosty flapped the mud off. "So I see." He retorted.

"But I'm not going to be part of some weird destiny, I just botched a spell I was trying out because I overloaded it with too much magic," Nova added.

Frosty nodded looking apologetic. "I really didn't mean anything by it. I shouldn't have implied I thought you and Renegade would be anything."

"It's no big deal. So what did He mean by you being a shapeshifter, Renegade?" Nova turned to the Pegasus she had just addressed.

"Oh well, I have sort of unique power. I can shift into any animal I want, even a human. It's a long story though," Renegade replied.

With the mention of Renegade's back story Frosty realized something. He saw many similarities in her to Fauna. Not in looks of course but in personality. She was opinionated, wanted to be the best she could, and did not like things being decided for her. And her display with the mud showed she took no nonsense from anybody, and possibly had a temper. His image of her blurred as his eyes filled with tears. Pretending to sneeze he covered his face with his wing till he had himself under control.

Renegade saw Frosty tearing up but decided not to say anything as he turned back to Nova, "so, want a tour now?"

"Sure, but could I get a ride from you? I don't think I could muster up the strength to try flying in any form," Nova said.

"Alright. Do you know what a human looks like, that form seems best if you want a ride," Renegade suggested.

"Dreadfully ugly creatures. Walk on their hind legs and only have hair on the tops of their heads. Oh! and no hooves! They have pudgy fleshy little digits that curl around things." Dagger stuck her tongue out and shook her head in disgust.

"Well how else could I carry her around without risking her falling off?" Renegade asked.

"Not the most appealing choice but until I'm rested it's the only one I have," Nova consented, "Just give me a minute or two to get the spell ready."

"Not all humans are ugly Dagger." Frosty told her quietly.

Turning to assure him she never meant Fauna she saw one of her herd mates coming out of the trees. She had a gash over her eye and was bleeding profusely from it. All along her body were less severe scratches. "Thalia! What happened to you?" She went running over to the injured mare and began checking her over more closely.

Sniffling she said, "It was that stupid gang. They set up one of their pranks. It caused a rock slide and I got caught under it." Dagger's eyes flashed in anger.

"_That_ passes for a prank around here?" Nova sounded appalled.

"I can't believe what Red Snout's doing now," Renegade's eyes were wide.

"This has gotten so out of hand. Thalia I am sorry." Frosty stated.

Dagger whirled on him, "It's not your apologies she needs! It's his! And she is going to get them. He and those stupid infants need a lesson of their own."

"Then go get them, Dagger," Nova encouraged her, "I'd help but I have no idea what the history to this is."

Snorting at the young unicorn she quipped, "Well now that I have your approval."

"No! You'll get hurt. And Nova contrary to what you seem to think of us, pegasus are not complete savage beasts. Yes we have a little more backbone then you unicorns but we are hardly hurroks." Thalia looked between Frosty and Nova as he had spoken. The sight of the unicorn made her forget her pain.

Dagger shook her head, "She's right though Frosty. You and the inner circle won't stand up to him because you are his best friends. I however have no such tie." Licking Thalia she said, "Clean up and sit tight. I'm bringing you a present." Spinning on her heels she took off at a gallop.

"Sheesh I was jsut trying to be encouraging," Nova sighed.

"This isn't exactly a good time to be judging us," Renegade said.

"Alright, are you going to be alright, Thalia?" Nova asked the injured pegasus.

She nodded, "Yeah. I'll heal by the end of tomorrow I'm sure. They just sting a little."

"I can heal those if you want," Nova offered.

The injured mares eyes lit up, "Oh could you? I would so appreciate that."

"I heard unicorns were known for their healing." Frosty mentioned.

"It's one of the first spells we learn and it's really simple for surface wounds." Nova trotted over to Thalia and pointed her horn at the injured mare. Her horn glowed blue for a moment then Thalia began to glow. Thalia sighed as the wave of energy washed over her as her injuries stopped bleeding and began to close up. The whole process took about 30 seconds.

"I don't know where you came from but I am so glad you are here!" She told Nova with a smile.

"You're welcome, I just hope everyone else is," Nova replied.

"Well I can give you a tour now, if you can do that polymorph thing," Renegade said.

"Alright, just a moment," Nova's horn, then body began to glow white. The white form in front of everyone shifted until the light faded and Nova was human. Her human form was rather pale skinned and with somewhat short white hair and green eyes. For an instant she was naked but another flash from an eight pointed star on her forehead a silver colored t-shirt and long pants appeared on her form. "How do humans stand to have to wear this stuff?" she asked, getting to her feet, checking her balance for a moment before walking over to Renegade.

"You get used to it so I'm told. If you need a change of clothes, I know where you can get some." Frosty told her.

"I'll stick with what I can conjure for now, I'd rather not bother but everyone's said that a naked human is inappropriate," Nova said.

"Well in public it is," Renegade said, kneeling to allow Nova easier access to get on his back. "I have to ask, why is your fur silver? I thought unicorns had white fur."

"We do when we're adults, I'm an adolescent so my fur's silver," Nova replied.

Renegade nodded and stood up, "Hold onto my mane and grip my sides with your legs. I'll be careful not to let you fall," he reassured her before taking off.

All this time, White Fang had been working on stabilizing the portal, muttering to himself as he did so. At long last the red and black retreated and he could see the forest clear as day on the other side. "What kind of teacher did she have? Letting her learn a spell like this without doing the parameters properly. She could have merged our worlds together permanently. Or worse."

"Sadly I didn't let her. Nova's been sneaking some of my more advanced spell books away to read and try to push herself too far ahead." The voice came from an adult unicorn that had just approached the portal shaking her head but smiling, "She's motivated but she needs to take it more slowly."

He grunted, "Hmmm. She does appear to have entirely too much chutzpah for one so young. They get one little thing right and suddenly they think they are ready for every gontzah megilla spell they come across." He wasn't quite focusing on the unicorn on the other side.

"Yes they...do..." The unicorn stopped, her mind processing the strange words that had come from the pegasus' mouth. She looked him over before asking, "White Fang?"

"Yes. How do you know..." Getting a good look at her now he scowled, "Aurora? You are her teacher?"

Aurora sighed, "Unfortunately yes. She has great natural talent but she wants to push ahead too fast. I'm sorry this sort of incident is what had to reunite us," she apologized.

White Fang shook his head in disbelief. "It's ironic. The gods must be laughing their sides off. Here you are reuniting us with a portal when it was my portals that separated us all those years ago."

"I've always thought the gods had a sense of humor," Aurora smiled bemusedly, "but we can catch up later. Let's get this portal stable for now. It will be faster if we work from both sides." Even as Aurora spoke her horn began to glow with a blueish light.

"Feh! As bossy as always. I can't believe Nova ever thought to cross you." He muttered half-heartedly while doing as Aurora instructed.

Aurora couldn't help but laugh lightly at White Fang's statement, "She's an unusual one. You've done a great job so far."

"Of course I have. I've been head shaman ever since we created this place. No fancy healing magic of course, but portals I can do."

"They never were my forte," Aurora admitted as their combined efforts caused the edges of the portal to quickly stabilize into a solid circle instead of the rough rippling oval it had been mere moments ago.

"You didn't need them to be your forte. You were perfect at everything else." He told her absently. Looking at her sidelong he allowed a small smile to sneak through.

"Flatterer," Aurora teased, but found herself blushing despite herself. "Well it looks like it will hold enough to stay open until we need to close it. But until then, may I come in?" she asked.

"Oy the council will have my tail, letting two of you fakokta unicorns in. But I suppose there is nothing to be done now. Come on over." He stepped back from the portal.

"Thank you, White Fang." Aurora bowed slightly as she stepped through, "where's Nova?"

"My apprentice took her to clean up. She had a rough landing," White Fang replied.

"An apprentice, this is a surprise. They must be an interesting individual," Aurora smiled.

"He wouldn't stop pestering me until I either agreed to teach him or adopt him. I'm old and like my peace so naturally I agreed." Moving to walk next to her he sighed, "I've grown soft."

"That's not a bad thing. I thought you would be lonely after you were forced to seal yourselves away so it's nice to hear that you're opening up again." Aurora leaned slightly against White Fang, "Before I go track her down perhaps I could come to your place for a rest."

"You feeling famished already? It's a wonder you unicorns ever get anything done." Leading her back to his igloo he asked, "You sure you won't freeze there?"

"I know how to warm myself." A light flash of red light made the air around her warm enough, "I can handle it."

"Ooooh look at you. Mrs. Hot Stuff now. How does your mate feel about this way of keeping yourself warm?" White Fang asked.

"That would be _Ms._ hot stuff. I don't have a mate," Aurora replied.

Something inside him turned a somersault. "Really? Never found the right guy? I would have thought someone as sweet as you would have had to beat the suitors off." The igloo was just coming into view.

"I had to for a while, but most of them gave up and I sort of buried myself in research and teaching," Aurora replied. "Eventually they stopped trying."

Using his wing he pushed aside the flap that blocked the entrance. "Well in you go. Don't need any of my yenta herd mates sticking their noses into my business."

"Thank you. I know how aggravating that can be." Aurora ducked quickly into the igloo and sighed happily, "This is a nice home, White Fang."

He shrugged, "It's alright. Serves its purpose and helps me keep up with all the niggling little requests I get. Feel free to look around." He moved off to his kitchen area to find some food for Aurora.

Aurora nodded and looked around. She noticed the shelves of boxes and book and smiling, "He's still organised, I can feel the magic he's been teaching in here," she spoke quietly to herself. She closed her eyes and took in the physical and magical scents of the items around her until something particular caught her interest.

Aurora turned and saw a small box that was surrounded by a faint but familiar aura. "No, I didn't think." She very carefully levitated the box off its shelf and carried it over to her. Her breath caught as she lifted the lid and then she gasped when she found the blue and yellow flowers contained within. "Oh my!"

Hearing her exclamation, White Fang returned to the main room. Seeing the box in front of her he swallowed nervously, "Oh you found those did you?"

"The ferona. I can't believe you kept them," Aurora gently replaced the lid and set the box back on the shelf before turning to White Fang, her entire features having softened and tears beginning to form in her eyes, "After all these centuries I thought you'd forgotten."

Any last resistance he had shattered as soon as he saw the tears in his lost love's eyes. "I could never. They were the last real connection I had to you. That's why I never tried to grow them again. Because then I'd have to share you with everyone."

"Oh Fang..." Aurora moved over to White Fang and rested her head against his neck, tears of joy dripping from her eyes.

Bringing his neck down to rest on the back of hers he also enveloped her in his wings. "My Aurora. How I've missed you." Closing his eyes he inhaled her scent. She still smelled like ferona flowers.

"And I missed you. It hurt for years before I buried my feelings in work. When I saw you today I thought we might be too different but now..." She nuzzled into his neck, taking in his nearly forgotten scent.

"I was so sure you'd found someone else. And I wanted you too if it would make you happy. I shut myself off. Wind Rider tried to get me to try and love again, but I couldn't." He gently grazed his muzzle along her mane. "We are different. But I think we are still different enough to love each other the same."

"And I do still love you, Fang. Maybe we can convince our leaders to let us keep the portal so we don't have to be separated again," Aurora said, burrowing more deeply into White Fang's wing embrace.

"I think our new Kingsire will be sympathetic. He is going through something similar." Using his magic he dimmed the lights in his igloo so it would appear as if he wasn't home and they wouldn't be disturbed. "And if that meshugana council have any objections I'll turn them into caterpillars."

Aurora giggled, "I almost want them to protest just to see you do it."

As Renegade flew over the falls with Nova clinging to his back the transformed unicorn began to ask questions. "So who's this inner circle that Dagger mentioned?"

"Kingsire Blue's closest friends: Red Snout, Frosty, Thunder, myself and my late sister Fauna," Renegade replied.

"You had a sister?" Nova sounded surprised.

"I did. She died a few months ago. It's... not something I want to talk about right now," Renegade turned his head slightly, "You'd have liked her, Nova, you're a lot like her."

"I'm sorry I won't get to meet her," Nova apologized.

"It's a shame. But as long as we're on the topic her herd's grounds around around here somewhere," Renegade searched the lande below and began descending, "Thunder might be around here. She was one of the very few grey wolves."

"So herds aren't bound by family?" Nova asked as they came in for a landing.

"Not at all. Though my relationship to my sister is complicated," Renegade said.

"Complicated is an understatement." Thunder's voice sounded from a small stand of trees. He had seen Renegade flying in with the girl on his back and was coming to greet them.

"I guess you're Thunder then," Nova guessed, looking the black and grey stallion over.

He bobbed his head, "I am. And you are? Other than not human." He added with a smile.

"Call my Nova," she replied.

"She's a unicorn," Renegade added.

Thunder bowed to her, "Well then welcome cousin, to Pegasus Falls. I am honored to meet you."

Nova was surprised by Thunder's behaviour. "Umm thanks. Is he always this formal?" she asked Renegade.

"Well moreso than the others you've met," Renegade said, chuckling a bit.

"I do enjoy the more ceremonial aspects of our kind I will admit. But even if I didn't, I'm sure you will be hard pressed to find anyone who would not treat a member of one of the oldest immortal races with respect," Thunder told her.

Nova laughed, "My teacher is one of the oldest. I'm not an adult yet."

"We'll you're older than me," Renegade said.

"How can you be sure of that?" Nova asked, giving Renegade a strange look.

"He's only a few months old. His growth was accelerated by his creator." Shrugging with a smile Thunder repeated, "Like he said, his life is complicated."

Nova's forehead glowed white for an instant and she assumed her true silver unicorn form, "Well then tell me your story, Renegade. It sounds interesting."

"Might as well," Renegade sat back.

Thunder smiled, "You know, I don't think I have ever heard your story all the way through. Just the bits Fauna has chosen to share with me."

"Well it's a long one," Renegade said as Nova too sat back to listen. "I was originally cloned from one of Fauna's feathers by an evil wizard called No-Heart..."

After executing their prank at the Onyx Mountains Red Snout and his gang had returned to their lagoon hang out.

"The look on their faces was priceless! But seriously, how dumb are you if you can't move out of the way of a falling boulder?"

"Pretty dumb. But I bet they've learned their lesson. Wouldn't you say Red Snout?" He nodded to his fellow gang member.

One of the viper members snickered, "Once we've perfected it, we should do it on Pearl Head. Maybe his mountain crashing down around him will get our sad sorry Kingsire out of his cave."

Scoffing Red Snout shook his head, "He'd see it as a way out. A way for him to be with Fauna again."

"All this over a girl. She wasn't even that amazing. Ow! What the hell man!"

Red Snout had kicked him as he spoke and was now glaring at him. "She was that amazing. Shut up."

Dagger arrived then, looking annoyed. "Alright idiots! What the hell was with that rock slide on Onyx? Don't you realize you could have killed someone." She didn't stop until she was right in the middle of the gang.

One of them laughed, "Relax. No one was. A few cuts that will heal." He looked her over, "You're awfully riled up over this though. Tell me, what I can do to make it better."

"Oh please! You don't have a snowflakes chance in the desert with me." Rolling her eyes and turning her back to him she continued "You all owe my friend an apology for those 'minor cuts' your prank gave her."

Red Snout snorted, "That too has a snowflakes chance in the desert, of happening."

Dagger's ears went back and she threw herself against him, shoving him out of the circle. "Oh good a volunteer."

Recovering Red Snout faced her again, "Have you lost your mind? I said we aren't apologizing. If your friend was too stupid to not move it's not my problem."

"Yeah well you were never supposed to be my problem either and yet here we are. Two of my friends are miserable because of you and it has fallen on me to knock some sense into your dumb ass."

Ears back Red Snout informed her, "Frosty can just chill. He hasn't told me that he has an issue so until then I'll do whatever I want. And you and your friends really don't even register on my radar so, bye." He pushed past her and went to stand with his gang once more.

"You really are hard of hearing." Dagger's dark green magic looped around Red Snouts ear and cinched tight.

\  
It yanked his head down and sideways making him cry out. "OW! What the hell you bitch! Let me go!"

"Just as soon as you apologize to Thalia." Walking out of the lagoon she dragged Red Snout after her. He tried to shake the loop off his ear but it wouldn't budge.

The gang merely laughed at his misfortune. "Red Snout got beat by a girl."

Hearing this, Red Snouts eyes began to glow. Focusing on Dagger's hind end he sent a bolt of his magic at it, shocking her. She bucked in surprise and lost the hold on her spell. Free now Red Snout snapped at her again, "Get over yourself. And leave me alone."

Once more Dagger got in his face, "Make me! I'm not scared of you or those other spineless cowards you've taken up with."

"I am not going to make you. I don't hit girls."

His statement surprised her and she stopped glaring at him, "Seriously? You don't mind hurting them indirectly, but you won't physically assault them? Where can I get a copy of this morals book you seem to go by?"

"If I say no one was supposed to get hurt will you go away? You are easily becoming one of the most annoying mares I ever met." He too had relaxed slightly. "We were just testing out a new spell and your friend was in the way. She wasn't the only one though. Sorry she was in the wrong place at the wrong time but it was an accident."

Dagger looked confused, "What were you testing the spell for."

"That I don't have to tell you. So there is your apology now go away. Or would you prefer to stick around and see how far my morals really go." His voice was challenging her.

Snorting at him she said, "Clearly this is for those Neanderthals who are now listening in." She nodded back in the direction of the lagoon. "Look, because you are Frosty's friend, I won't make a total fool out of you. I don't care when you do it just tell Thalia you're sorry. In exchange you can tell your friends whatever you want about how you 'handled' me."

He looked at her in surprise. "Why exactly are you doing that?"

"Because genius. I know for a fact, you are the only one in that group who will not hit girls. And clearly that means you are not beyond all hope for redemption. So wise up and make a better choice for yourself." Turning from him she flicked her tail and trotted away. Red Snout watched her go before returning to his crew.

"You shake her?"

He nodded to the shark. "Yeah I handled her. She won't be coming around here again." Making their own assumptions of how exactly he did this they congratulated him and returned to their previous conversations.

"…and that's when I asked White Fang to teach me how to be a shaman," Renegade finally finished his story.

Nova blinked, "Yeesh, you guys weren't kidding when you said it was complicated."

"It certainly was an interesting time for us. A lot of things changed real fast and we were sprinting to keep up." Thunder stretched his wings out, keeping them loose.

"So what's the deal with these Care Bears and the Magi," Nova asked, as the topic hadn't been elaborated on during the story.

"Well the Care Bears live on clouds above Earth and they're supposed to help humans express their feelings or move towards being more compassionate to each other," Renegade explained.

Nova snorted, "Doesn't sound like the best use of their time."

"To my understanding they have had a few successes that are noteworthy. But yes for the most part humans are a stubborn breed to deal with. The Magi are a little different. They are much more aggressive in their methods with dealing with errant humans. It's because of them the Hunters were wiped out. I know even the unicorns know of them," Thunder looked to Nova to see her reaction.

"These magi sounds interesting, they've gotta have some kind of powerful magic to do that," Nova said.

"They do, but it's different than ours, I don't know exactly how but they seems to use raw elements rather than spells or incantations," Renegade replied.

Nova nodded as her thoughts turned to the subjects of the hunters. "I'd heard the hunters were killed a while ago but no one knew who did it. They never really bothered us though. The older unicorns say that's because the original hunters just hated the pegasus and didn't expand to 'destroy all magic' until more recently."

Thunder nodded "Yup thats about it. I'd say they next time the Magi were around you could talk to them about their magic. However, they along with the other Care Bears are no longer allowed here."

"Because of what happened to Fauna," Nova surmised.

"Yeah," Renegade sighed sadly.

Attempting to lighten the mood Thunder said, "Well how about I show you around the Grey wolf herd grounds. They aren't very large since we are such a small herd."

"Sure, I could use a walk after riding around on Renegade for a while," Nova said, getting up from her sitting position.

"I'd like to do that too, Fauna never really showed me around here," Renegade said, getting up to join them.

"Well you know Fauna's nest is over there," He pointed his wing to the dense stand of trees. "And this way is the portion of the river that cuts through our land." He led them to the crystal clear riverbed. On the banks were large rocks for them to utilize in their animal forms as well as what looked like a fire pit.

"This is definitely different than what we have back home," Nova commented.

"You don't have rivers back home?" Thunder asked her. With a small running start he leapt over the river.

Nova glared at Thunder, "No, I mean stuff like that fire pit or anything that 'disturbs the natural setting' or whatever those old goats go on about. Our lot is supposed to not take from or alter nature in any way, that and unless we learn we don't shape shift into other animals."

He just smiled in answer to her glare, "Fauna made the fire pit. Otherwise it wouldn't be here either. What do you guys do for protection then? Just use your magic?"

"Protection from what?" Nova asked.

Now Thunder looked truly interested, "You mean you guys don't have any kind of danger back home?"

"Not really. Back in the day our elders worked to keep the myths about our race those that placed us as protectors of nature and the innocent and that trying to harm a unicorn was a crime against god, or the gods or whatever humans worshipped at the time. Plus we're supposed to be herbivores only so no normal predator goes after us." Nova sighed, "that's probably why we're so frail, no reason to be strong when our reputation keeps us safe."

Cringing Thunder replied, "It's no wonder you wanted a little excitement in your life. I may not like being shot at but being totally defenceless and having nothing spontaneous in my life would make me molt from frustration."

"I am so glad I came here," Nova smiled, "You guys get it. AS for being defenseless we're supposed to use our magic to escape or disable anything that might be a threat."

"Forgive me for asking, but is it even possible for you to... get stronger?" Renegade asked.

"Of course. Some of the older unicorns used to be powerful mages and even fighters of sort they lost their strength from easy living. It's possible I just have to work at it and try," Nova replied, not seeming offended by the statement.

"Well just by running around here you will be able to gain strength. For example," He pawed the ground and pointed at the river. "Jump this and get over here because I've been talking to you two across the river for 10 minutes now."

"Alright," Nova trotted back a few steps and looked to Renegade, who nodded at her to try, then she galloped at the river's edge and took a jump with all her strength. For a moment she didn't look like she was going to make it but she just barely managed to get her front hooves on the shore with her rear half landing in the water.

"Almost," She grunted, pulling herself out of the water.

"Not bad," Renegade flapped over to the other side.

"Well... thanks," Nova replied.

"Way to rub it in Ren" Thunder whacked him with his wings. "It was a good jump Nova. I can't tell you how many times I fell in this river when I was a foal."

"I didn't expect to make it to the edge," Nova said. "And thanks, both of you. I'd like to stay here for a while but I'm sure Aurora will come looking for me before too long and I'll have to go home."

"Who's aurora?" Renegade asked.

"My magic teacher. She says I have a lot of natural talent for magic so she's teaching me how to use it. I uh borrowed one of her more advanced books and used a spell in there to make the portal that brought me here," Nova explained.

Thunder glanced at Renegade as they walked, "Didn't you leave White Fang at the portal? I hope he's polite to Aurora if she shows up."

Renegade nodded, "I hope so too. Should we head back there or wait for them to come find us?"

"That's up to you two. I am merely an innocent bystander who is showing our newcomer around. I had no part to play in your shenanigans," he smirked at the two.

"Thank you so much for your support, Thunder," Nova said.

"You're a great friend, you know that right?" Renegade asked sarcastically.

"I do know that. I'm the best at it even. According to your sister." He continued to smile looking very pleased with himself.

Back at the igloo White Fang and Aurora had moved to lying on the floor. Aurora was curled up against White Fang's side under his wing. Aurora was in heaven. The warmth from White Fang's body and wing had settled over her like a blanket and she never wanted to leave. Unfortunately they both knew they had things to take care of and she eventually stirred.

"Mmm. Fang, you awake?" she asked.

"If I say no, can we not get up and just pretend our errant apprentices will just be okay on their own?" He muttered, burrowing his nose in her mane.

"I wish. I'd like to stay here but we should also deal with your council before we forget." Aurora sighed as she moved to stand.

Lifting his wing and allowing her to do so White Fang too got to his feet, groaning as his stiff joints loosened, "I can't imagine what you see in an old man like me."

"The same things I saw in you centuries ago and you're only as old as you feel." Aurora nuzzled him softly, "Perhaps soon you won't feel so old, I know I already feel younger just seeing you again."

"Well with that argument come on. Let's go see about keeping your portal open." He spread his wing indicating she could go through the tunnel first.

Aurora smiled at White Fang before carefully ducking through the tunnel and out of the igloo. Once White Fang emerged she asked, "So which way to your council?"

He pointed to the distant mountain range. "They council from there. It would be quicker if we could fly but I suppose we can walk there."

Aurora giggled. "You're not the only shape-shifter here, Fang," she teased. Her horn then her body glowed white and in a moment Aurora had transformed into an eagle. "Shall we?" she asked, spreading her wings.

Smiling at her he took off, "You are just too perfect for words my dear."

"Thank you, Fang." Has she still be capable, Aurora would have blushed.

It took them about 20 minutes to reach the council's cave. White Fang landed on the ledge first and made sure Aurora had somewhere to touch down. "So what did you think of the view?"

"Quite spectacular, or did you mean the view of the falls?" she teased as she shifted back to her true form. "The view from here is quite extensive; I nearly forgot how far I could see."

"Oy yer makin me blush." He took on a more serious tone however, "The council are all as grumpy and stiff as you remember so be ready for them to be rude. I apologize ahead of time."

"I remember all too well," Aurora sighed. "Well lead on, let's try to make this a bearable a possible."

Nudging her cheek in one last bout of affection he said, "Its' a good thing I'm a bear then." As Aurora chuckled he led her into the cave.

As they approached the council's chamber Aurora asked a quiet question, "Will the new kingsire be here, and who is the new kingsire?"

White Fang shrugged, "I'm not sure if he will or won't be. But his name is Blue Timber Wolf." Pausing briefly to consider how to word the next part he opted with, "He's been a bit...unpredictable since Fauna died. They were in a porl, er, couple."

"I can understand that. I'll be careful with my word choice just in case," Aurora reassured him.

"That would be wise. It's a real shame too because he showed real promise as a king. But I'm afraid he may never pull himself out of this rut."

As they entered the council's chamber Aurora instantly picked out the council members. They were almost all the same, right down to their stone faced expressions save for one copper colored stallion with hair like iridescent metal.

Graydon looked confused upon seeing White Fang and Aurora in the chamber. "White Fang? Did we have a meeting with you today?"

"And who is your friend?" Veritas asked, looking at the unicorn at his side.

"An old friend of mine from back on our earth days. Aurora," he told the council boldly.

Aurora bowed to the council, showing them the respect the expect. "Your graces. I know you are surprised by my presence."

"That's one way of putting it," Tonar said.

Aurora wisely chose to ignore the fact that she was interrupted and instead continued. "I am here because my apprentice accidentally tore a portal between our two realms. She borrowed one of my advanced spell books without asking me and most likely made a mistake when she was casting the portal spell."

Copper laughed, "Ha! A unicorn making a mistake on a spell! I thought that was unheard of for your kind."

Tonar looked at his shaman, "I would have thought closing a portal would be simple enough for you White Fang. But we appreciate you feeling the need to report it. You may close it and sent Aurora and her Apprentice home."

White Fang shook his head, "That's the thing. I'd rather not. Aurora and I have come before you to suggest the portal stays open and she and Nova be allowed to stay a spell."

"Nova is young but she has great talent for the magical arts, but she is impulsive and she wishes to experience a world outside our grove," Aurora explained.

The council exchanged a look. "White Fang you seem to think our memory is fading. I recall exactly who Aurora is to you. This portal being open seems to be for much more selfish reasons then educating young minds."

"Well you would know all about selfish agendas Tonar." White Fang shot back at him.

He sneered in return, "We will consider your request. After all, the unicorns are cousins of ours and we should be hospitable to our kin." Tonar ignored White Fang's indignant noise and his statement.

Veritas took over for Tonar, "Return to us in a half hour so we may speak with the Kingsire on this matter."

"Thank you," Aurora bowed once more before she and White Fang exited the chambers.

Once they were outside Aurora bristled, "I see they're as charming as ever."

Even though he nodded he was still walking, "We need to go and see Blue now. If we can get him on our side they cannot say anything about keeping the portal open."

"Lead on then, Fang." Aurora changed herself into an eagle once again and took off, following White Fang.

They didn't go far, only up to another ledge. Outside as always stood Blue's guards and seeing the Shaman in a hurry they instantly moved out of his way, bowing slightly in respect. If he was here they knew he had a very good reason.

Totally out of character, White Fang began to holler for Blue, "Kingsire! I need to speak with you!" His voice echoed through the cave, Blue however didn't appear to be rushing to see them. Aurora shifted into her true form, startling the guards once again as she followed White Fang into the royal caves.

Seeing Blue finally emerge from his sleeping chamber, White Fang bowed to him. "What do you want White Fang?" He muttered to the shaman.

Aurora arrived and Blue looked at her startled. As White Fang spoke he looked the unicorn over. "My leige, I have come to ask your permission to allow Aurora and her apprentice to visit the Falls for a time."

Blue looked at White Fang, "Have you? I'm assuming you've already been to the council?"

"We have. They were less than enthusiastic," Aurora replied.

"No! They said they would speak with you and ask your opinon. But I didn't want them warping any of the information." Blue looked like he wanted to say something but White Fang didn't let him. "Kingsire Blue. Aurora is more than just some unicorn who has stumbled through a portal. She is the one I love, and I have been separated from her since the day the Falls was created. I beseech you, please, don't separate me from her again."

The king was taken aback. He had never heard White Fang spill his soul quite like this. Come to think of it, the older pegasus had never asked him for anything. He always did just what he was told and had never started trouble of any kind. Closing his eyes for a moment Blue slowly nodded, "I would never wish to be the one to keep someone from their love. As long as she and her apprentice don't cause trouble, and as long as they want to be here, I will allow them to be here. And you can tell the Council that."

"Thank you, Kingsire Blue Timber Wolf." Aurora bowed low with her horn nearly touching the ground. "If ever you need my services then I will be here to aid you."

"I appreciate that. But unless you know how to resurrect the dead, I don't think it will be anytime soon. Is that all you needed?"

"Yes that is all." Aurora stood up and she and White Fang carefully left the royal caves.

Safely outside again White Fang let out a heavy breath, "Whew that gave my poor ticker a start! I wasn't sure which personality we would be dealing with."

"I could sense the pain he was feeling. He emanated that emotion in droves." Aurora shook her head, "It is a tragedy but at least we won't be separated again." She nuzzled White Fang, "So should we wait to tell the council that the Kingsire has given his approval?"

"Oh no. We are going there right now and it will be a very short conversation."

Making their way back to the cave White Fang asked Aurora to wait outside. Walking with a purpose he disappeared from her sight. However when he spoke, his voice carried all the way back out to her.

"Hey guess what you shmoes! Yes you too Tonar don't look all fermished. Kingsire Blue has given his blessing for the portal to stay open and my girl to stay. Go ahead and kvetsh all you want, but I won this round! Yeah put that in your pipe and smoke it!"

Aurora was shaking with mirth and laughter as White Fang emerged from the cave. "Oh my I wish I could have s-seen the looks on their fa-faces."

"It looked a little like this." He quickly made a surprised face and then shifted it to a horrendous angry face with his tongue sticking out. Setting himself right he nudged her, "Welcome officially."

Aurora got her mirth under control and smiled. "Thank you, Fang. I should find Nova and pay a visit to our elders. It shouldn't take me long to convince them to let the portal stay open."

"Alright. Lets go play nuchschlep to the kinderlach." He muttered, looking less than pleased.

"Sorry, Fang, but business before pleasure, and Nova's parents will be worried about her." Aurora changed herself into an eagle again. "Besides you still have to anchor the portal so it can be opened and closed at will. Once we're done that I'll be back."

"Looks like I'm going to have to get used to you being right all the time. Again," he told her with a smirk before taking off.

They found Nova lying down and out of breath near the portal. Renegade stood next to her giving the young unicorn a concerned look. "You didn't have to run all the way here."

"I...wanted...too," Nova panted, standing up. "Gotta...keep...pushing."

"As long as you don't push too far." Nova was startled and looke dup to see White Fang landing nearby with an eagle that quickly changed back into Aurora. Nova did her best to back up bit Aurora smiled at her. "Relax, Nova, you're not in trouble, not this time. Your little mishap has reunited me with my love I though lost to time." Aurora gently nuzzled her head against White Fang's. "But please, next time you want to try a more advanced spell, ask instead of sneaking my spell books away and trying them yourself, alright?"

"Alright Aurora," Nova nodded, relieved that no punishment was forthcoming.

"Hear that Renegade? No ideas of trying that yourself to fix your little mishap that way." White Fang cautioned him while fixing him with a look.

"Right, I promise," Renegade reassured White Fang.

"What mishap is that?" Nova asked, having regained her breath.

"It's complicated, but suffice to say I accidentally changed the nature of the Care Bear's reality so I'm trying to fix it," Renegade explained.

"How did that happen?" Nova sounded confused.

"It was a burst of magical energy that I released when Red Snout got me mad," Renegade said.

"Interesting. It seems your apprentice has a natural talent for magic as well, Fang," Aurora noted.

He groaned, "It is shaping up that way. Well regardless, you Nova, and Aurora are allowed to stay for as long as you want. She just needs to tie up things at home. And you oh gifted one are coming with me to learn about portal anchoring." He told Renegade.

Renegade nodded wordlessly as Aurora walked over to Nova and helped her stand.

"Working on your stamina I see. Well as long as you don't overexert yourself you should be fine. Let's go before your parents start worrying about you," Aurora said.

"Alright. See ya later, Renegade," Nova said as she and Aurora headed through the portal back to the unicorn's grove.


	11. Care-a-Lot High Arc, Part 7

Chapter 11

On Saturday afternoon Swift Heart found herself driving to Grumpy's mysterious location. It was outside of town, a few exits down on the highway. Sunglasses on, she looked through the windshield of her blue convertible at the sign before her. Eyebrow raised she read: "The Midway Speedway huh? What on earth is he doing here?" Pulling into the parking lot she parked and looked around for a sign of where Grumpy was.

Large groups of people were heading to the track, stopping along the way to place bets or buy things. Hooking her thumbs in her Jeans' belt loops she sighed "Guess that way is a good way to start." Locking her car she headed after the crowd.

Grumpy was near the pits, cleaning the oil off his fur with a dry cloth, "At least that's the last of them."

After walking for a while and still not finding him, Swift Heart grew impatient and took out her phone. "Just an address. Could of at least told me where to meet him." Dialing Grumpy's number she waited for him to answer.

Grumpy felt his cell phone go off and he waved off the other mechanics before answering. "Hello?"

"So I'm here. At the track. Funny thing is though I can't seem to find you anywhere." She glanced around to be sure. "How about giving me a hint?"

"I'm by the track, at the pits."

Pushing off the wall she was leaning on she headed towards the pit. "What are you doing there?"

"My job. I help service the cars before and after the race," Grumpy replied.

Swift Hearts mouth fell open. "You work on race cars?! What the hell Grumpy! That's like the coolest job ever!" Walking faster now she reached the stairs to the pits.

Grumpy hung up once he saw Swift Heart and waved to her. "Down here!" he called.

Hopping down the stairs she smiled at him "So seriously? You get to work on these?" She looked past him at the brightly colored cars down the row.

"Yep. I work for the race track so I make sure the cars are in the best condition, check for illegal modifications and sabotage," Grumpy replied.

"That is awesome! I am so freaking jealous! I love watching these races." A thought hit her and she smirked at him, folding her arms, "But I'm guessing you already knew that."

"Considering how much you like to run, but I wasn't sure. So what do you drive?" he asked.

"Camaro convertible." She told him, still admiring the cars.

Grumpy whistled, "Niiiiice. Like the selection?" he asked, noticing where she was looking.

"They are amazing I would kill to be able to get behind the wheel of one." Seeing some of the other mechanics looking at her she smiled at them and waved. "Sup boys?"

The other mechanics turned to start talking. Grumpy laughed, "They're not used to pretty young girls showing up at the track."

"Pretty huh?" She teased him. "I think you're full of it. I saw lots of girls prettier than I am on my way in."

"Most don't come down to the pits," Grumpy said. "We should go now, the pit crews are coming in."

She nodded, "whatever you say mechanic." Saying bye to the other guys she followed Grumpy out of the pit.

"Well I'm supposed to be out of the pits during the race. Each driver needs to maintain their own pit crew, I just work for the track," Grumpy said as they headed for the stands.

"Relax Grumpy! I don't need to be up close and personal with the drivers. Just seeing all this is just about the coolest thing I've ever done." She told him while looking for a place to sit.

"Really? What do you and Brave Heart do on your dates?" Grumpy asked.

"Usually go to a sporting event or party one of the football guys is hosting. Usually his attention span is too short for quiet dates," Swift Heart told him.

"I can buy that," Grumpy said, "I think we can sit up there." He pointed up to a seat at the top of the bleachers.

"I'll race you." She taunted him before lightly jogging up the stairs.

"Hey no fair!" Grumpy shouted after her, running after Swift Heart.

Unbeknownst to them, Brave Heart was returning to his seat a few rows below and to the left of where Swift and Grumpy were heading. He had gone to get drinks and food for himself and Harmony. "Mmmm nachos!" She said as Brave Heart reached her. "And you got me a diet soda?"

"I know you like to keep yer slim figure." Brave Heart passed her the can as he took his seat.

Laughing she nodded. "Oh yeah man. Save the calories for the things that are worth it. Like these spectacularly gooey things." Picking up a loaded chip she popped it in her mouth.

"First time eatin' nachos?" Brave Heart asked.

"Not at all. But 'nacho' hardly seems a worthy enough word for them." Harmony took another one. "Back in college a good batch of nachos smothered in sour cream and jalapenos were my choice all-nighter food!"

"Gotta remember that, sounds tasty," Brave Heart scooped up some nachos and bit into them.

Looking at the track Harmony asked, "So how does this work? Whoever is fastest wins?"

"Ah think so. Never really went to one of these before." Brave Heart turned to face the track.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" Grumpy panted as he finished jogging up to join Swift Heart.

"I wanted to get here before the flag was dropped." There was a slight breeze and it was gently lifting her ears off the back of her head.

"Even so," Grumpy sat down next to her.

Nudging him with her elbow she leaned into him briefly, "Alright I'm Sorry. I promise I won't run away from you again. Okay?"

"Thank you." Grumpy smiled, "So do you know the stats for the race?"

She looked briefly at the entry numbers. "Oh my money is on number 47. He's won or placed in all his preliminary races."

"He is the favorite, but number 32 is a close second. She's been placing in every preliminary and won one of the ones 47 lost," Grumpy replied.

"You're crazy! She only beat him because the track was wet that day and 47s car slid," she retorted.

"Yeah well..." Grumpy's gaze drifted down the stands. "Wait... nah..." he waved the thought off.

Confused by his half sentence she followed his gaze seeing the back of her boyfriend's distinct head she frowned. "I thought he said he had to do yard work today. Who is he sitting with?" She squirmed to get a better look.

"Someone purple," Grumpy said. "Looks like the Harmony Bear, the music teacher."

Swift Heart laughed "Why in the world would he be here with-" she stopped talking as she saw Harmony kiss Brave Heart on the mouth.

"Damnit, I thought something was up with them," Grumpy groaned.

Swift Heart didn't respond. Cooly she stood from her seat and calmly walked down the stairs. Grabbing an abandoned soda she pushed her way through the people in the row behind Brave Heart and Harmony. Just as calmly she dumped the drink on her boyfriend's head.

"Hey, what the hell was that- Oh crap," Brave Heart's anger quickly changed to fear when he turned and saw who it was.

Harmony too felt her stomach drop to her feet when she saw Swift Heart standing over them.

"Well this is some kind of extra credit you are working on." Swift Heart planted her hands on her hips and glared at Brave Heart.

"Uhh..." Brave Heart was unable to speak.

"Swift Heart, please, let us explain!" Harmony pleaded with her.

"Oh trust me you do not want me speaking to you right now. It would not help your vibe flow or whatever stupid crap you say." Turning back to Brave Heart she said, "She's all yours. You and I are so over!" Throwing the empty cup at him she retreated down a few more steps before turning to face them again. Loudly she called "Maybe sleeping with the music teacher will finally get you in tune with things!"

"Ah am such an idiot," was all Brave Heart cold say.

Grumpy had left the bleachers as soon as Swift Heart had gone to dump her boyfriend. He was in the parking lot and searched around the speedway for her. "Swift Heart? Are you still here?"

She was sitting in her car, gripping her steering wheel and fuming. "Of all the sneaky, underhanded, selfish ass holes in the world why did I have to fall for him!" Feeling tears in her eyes she began to blink rapidly "Oh hell no! I will not cry over him! I am not one of those weak girls!"

Grumpy spotted Swift Heart and headed for the car. "This is a nice car. Who's your mechanic?" he asked.

She snorted, "No one. I take care of what I can on my own. Luckily nothing outside my knowledge has come up."

"A good job so far," Grumpy said. "Sorry, I'm not used to comforting anyone, not really in my wheelhouse."

"I don't need to be comforted. I'm fine." Slapping the steering wheel she snapped, "I can't believe I was so stupid!" Taking a few deep breaths she slowly sat back in her seat. "Sorry this is happening and totally ruining your day."

"It's fine. I'm only a part timer here and my boss lets me leave mid shift if anything comes up, and I think this counts," Grumpy said. "And Brave Heart is the one who's stupid."

She gave a short laugh. "Got that right! Who would blow their shot with me like that?" Her laughter died off and the corners of her mouth turned down. Sniffling she hurriedly swiped at her eyes. "Unless of course the perfect older woman comes along who can give you everything you ever wanted."

"Well I know something that will make you feel better. Can I get in?" Grumpy asked. Nodding she reached over and opened the door for him.

Grumpy got in, "So where do you want to go now?"

"What about your car?" Swift Heart asked.

"I took a bus here," Grumpy said.

"Really? But I thought you loved your car. You are always working on it." Pulling out of the parking lot she let her foot fall heavily on the accelerator.

"Parking here's usually abysmal here so I don't bother when I come to work," Grumpy explained.

"Makes sense. So where are we headed?" She swerved to get around the slow driver in front of her. He blared his horn at her.

"Ice cream shop. That's about the only thing I know about break ups." Grumpy smiled.

"That is an excellent thing to know, especially for me." Shifting gears she headed for town.

When Monday came, Grumpy pulled in to park at school near Swift Heart car. He smiled as he got out and ran his hand over the hood, "Damn, she has good taste. Hmm." He looked up, seeing Brave Heart get out of his pickup truck. Grumpy checked his watch then reached for his tools as Brave Heart entered the school. "Time to get serious about this," he said.

Brave Heart felt like he was walking on needles everywhere. No one was pointing or looking at him oddly so word hadn't gotten out about his infidelity but he knew that was going to be short lived.

Swift Heart was switching her books over in her locker. She was also taking down the pictures she had up of her and Brave Heart. Her next stop was going to be the front office to get her schedule changed so she was no longer in Harmony's class.

Brave Heart spotted Swift Heart and sighed. There was going to be no avoiding this so maybe it would be best to get it over with fast as he approached his own locker.

Seeing Brave Heart she slammed her locker shut and faced him. "You have got some nerve coming near me right now."

"This is my locker, I kinda need to get to it before class," Brave Heart said.

"Really? I thought Harmony had everything you needed," she snapped at him. "Do you have anything to say? Any small piece of crap you think will redeem yourself? Hell did you even care about me at all?" Swift Heart questioned him.

"Of course I care about you. Ah just didn't know how to tell you or even how serious it was until Saturday." Brave Heart was bristling.

"Oh so this was just another testament to your flakiness! You didn't know how to say 'Hey Swifty, been two timing you. Hope that's okay because I'm not sure how serious we are.'" She jabbed him in his shoulder with her finger, "Do you hear how that sounds? You're even dumber than I thought!"

"I'm not stupid Swift Heart, have you looked at my grades? My average is higher than yours!" Brave Heart shot back.

"That's what happens when you date your teachers!" Standing on her tip-toes she hollered in his face. Their raised voices were beginning to draw a crowd.

"Hey, Ah actually study, it's something you should try sometime," Brave Heart said.

"It's kind of hard to do when you are forced to go to every football game as well as whatever other sport match your boyfriend insists you can't miss. Not once did you offer to help me with my grades. It was always about what you wanted."

"Well why didn't you ask then?" Brave Heart replied.

"Oh no don't you turn this around on me!" Swift Heart shouted back. "You are the one who cheated! You were in the wrong!"

Their argument was only halted as the 5 minute bell rang. "Well, I guess we'll see about this later then," Brave Heart turned and headed for his class.

"Don't count on it! We broke up! If I ever see you again it will be too soon!" She yelled after him. Looking to the crowd of spectators she glared at them, sending them running. Swift Heart opted to skip first period and went to run out her frustration on the track.

By the time lunch came everyone was talking about what had gone on between Brave and Swift Heart. Neither of them had shown up to lunch that day so everyone was wondering where they had gone.

At the A-crowd table the debate was especially heated. Valiant hit the table with his fist, "Ugg! I should have guessed something was going on. He was spending so much time with his 'extra-curricular' stuff. Why did I believe him?"

Snowy was a bit confused and asked, "So what happens now? Do we take sides?"

"Brave Heart is clearly in the wrong here! He is the one who cheated on Swift Heart, and that is so not okay!" Crossing her arms Cheer added, "However he probably wouldn't have had to look elsewhere if Swift Heart wasn't such a prude. I mean, come on, they didn't do it once and they were almost together a year! If that isn't commitment enough I don't know what is. Poor Brave Heart had to get attention from someone."

"I get that Brave Heart was probably sick of being denied, Cheer, but he should have just broke up with her instead of... this," Champ said.

Cheer nodded, "Oh I know. I was simply saying I can understand why he did it. Not that I agree with it."

Love-a-Lot nodded as well, "Yeah that was so not cool of him! Poor Swift Heart to find out that way."

"No wonder neither of them are here. And music class was cancelled today," Snowy said.

Share looked surprised, "You really think Harmony is that upset? She surely knew what was going on when she agreed to see Brave Heart."

"I don't know. I'm not psychic," Snowy said.

"My guess is that she's embarrassed, or that Principal Norman had choice words for her." Valiant Heart sighed, "I like Harmony's music class but I don't know about this."

"Think she'll be fired?" Champ asked.

"Wid Principle 'No Heart' dat a possible outcome indeed. But den again, he may keep her 'roun to make de two uncomfortable. He does like causin misery whenever he can," Illusion added

"That does sound more like him," Valiant agreed. "At least football season's over so we won't have to worry about Brave Heart's performance anytime soon."

"Amen to that sports fan," Champ agreed. "And I guess we can just try to be supportive to both of them during this rough patch. I mean I like them both and don't really want to choose sides. Do you guys?"

Illusion shook his head at Champ, "No frer. I agree."

"Same here," Snowy nodded before taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"So, on happier topics have you seen the basketball games lately?" Share asked. She put an arm around Snowy, "Snowy's getting better with every game."

"Yeah he is. Looks like he finally found his niche." Champ told Share while sending a smile at Snowy.

"Well you've been showing me all the tricks, Champ, I don't think I'd have come this far without your help," Snowy said.

"Oh don't be so modest." Share gave Snowy a kiss.

"Yeah mate. OI've seen oll the hours you've put in on tha court. Practicing yer shot an dribble." Jolly told him.

"Well, I try," Snowy chuckled.

"You do more than try." Share giggled, "you definitely have more stamina than I thought." Snowy blushed slightly but smiled all the same.

Illusion and Champ exchanged a look and a snicker. Love-a-Lot gripped Valliant's hand. "You okay honey?"

"Other than the Brave and Swift Heart, Harmony thing, I'm fine. Why do you ask, Love?" Valiant asked.

"You just seemed upset before," she told him.

"I am." Valiant sighed, "I mean, Brave Heart's my friend and then he pulls this crap. Swift Heart's my friend too so what am I supposed to say. I mean other than telling Swift Heart I'm sorry I didn't mention anything. I mean yeah I didn't have any proof but I don't know… would spreading that rumor have helped at all?" Valiant asked the others.

Cheer shook her head. "It would have made them both mad at you."

"You did what you thought was best. If you want to do something then chew out Brave Heart when you see him again, sports fan," Champ said.

"_If_ I see him again. Should one of us try to find Swift Heart?" Valiant asked.

"She's on the track. She's been there all day," Share told him. "I don't think she's been to a single class."

"I don't blame her," Love-a-Lot said, pushing her tray away, "I'm gonna go talk to her. Anyone else want to come?" she asked.

Share nodded, "Yea I'll come."

Champ was about to join them when Cheer pushed him down. "Sorry Champ but this is kinda a girl's thing."

"Alright. Good luck Cheer," Champ gave her a kiss before the girls left.

"Jus as well homme. Girls got a language all dere own fo' dese situations." Illusion told him.

Out at the track, Grumpy had just finished his lunch and was quietly watching from behind one of the bleachers. Despite the situation he smiled as he watched Swift Heart running her circuits around the track faster and faster.

Swift Heart paused briefly in her laps to drink from her water bottle. Her chest was pumping as she did so, her tired lungs trying to draw air. Seeing the three girls she waved to them, "What's up?"

"Oh you know. Just wanted to see what you were up to. And that boys are stupid," Cheer said with a smile.

Share nodded, "Really stupid!"

"Hope you're not burning yourself out out here," Love-a-Lot said.

"No way but thanks for the concern." Stopping to take another drink she felt her heartbeat slow. "So has everyone heard then?"

"Well after your little fight with Brave Heart, it was kinda impossible to stop everyone from talking," Share said.

She smirked "I always did like being the center of attention. And agreed. Boys are stupid."

Share rubbed her back, "I applaud you for your tacts at the race track. Yes we heard about that too." She said in response to Swift Hearts look.

"So what are you going to do now, Swift Heart?" Love-a-Lot asked.

"Oh you know the usual break up routine: withdraw into myself for a bit, totally pretend 'the ex' doesn't exist."

Love-a-Lot took over, "Eat large amounts of junk food while bitching to your girlfriends."

"Followed almost immediately by the 'make him regret it' phase." Share added.

Cheer threw her arms up "And then rebound guy! Yay!"

Swift Heart laughed, "I think that covers it."

"Yup. Think you're good to come to class this afternoon?" Cheer asked.

That surprised her and she checked her watch. Seeing the time her eyes widened "I've been out here all morning!"

Share and Cheer looked at her in pity, "Come on Swifty. Let's get inside." Share tugged gently on her arm.

Pulling away Swift Heart replied, "I'm coming. You go ahead."

"OK, we'll see you later," Cheer said as the three girls retreated inside the school.

Grumpy watched them go and took a deep breath before emerging from behind the bleachers. "Hey Swift Heart," he said, waving to her.

Jumping she turned to face him. "How long have you been there?"

"All lunch hour," Grumpy replied. "You're a fast runner."

"Hah! I thought you already knew that." Taking another drink she told him, "Running helps me clear my head."

"And after what happened at the track I guess you'd need it," Grumpy said. "So do you feel any better now?"

Walking over to him she grinned up at him. "A lot less foolish and a hell of a lot calmer so yea. I'm really sorry our day got ruined though because of everything."

Grumpy waved off her concerns, "My day was dull until you showed up anyway. I've got a surprise for you after school," he offered.

"A surprise? What kind of surprise? Are you cheating on me too?" She teased him. "Tutoring another math idiot I bet."

Grumpy laughed, "Who else would want to spend time taking lessons from me? But you'll have to find out after school. I promise you'll like it."

"Alright. I trust you." Reaching forward she rested a hand on his arm, "And that is something I'm not doing too much these days."

"Thanks. So I'll meet you in the parking lot after school them?" he asked hopefully.

"Looks like it." Taking her hand back she moved past him towards the school. "Later Grumpy."

"So why are we meeting today? I have team practise in 10 minutes," Snowy said. He was already in his jersey and shorts and was nervously stretching as he stood with the rest of paranormal club.

"This won't take long, Snowy," Loyal Heart reassured him, "but there is a possible danger coming soon."

"So what's the problem?" Valiant asked.

"There's been a buildup of spiritual energy around here lately, and if it continues it may attract more hollows," Loyal Heart said.

"More hollows?" Indy asked.

"Yes. When I left gym class this morning during the warm-up run I had to kill one that showed up. It didn't add much of an increase but it's worrisome," Loyal Heart said.

"I'm sorry. It might be my fault because of my own energies," Indy apologized.

"I don't think so. You're not emitting nearly enough energy to attract any excess of hollows," Snowy said.

"But then what could it-" Valiant was cut off by what sounded like a sick cat hacking up a hairball.

"Yeesh, what the hell is that?!" Valiant moved to the window and looked into the parking lot as Snowy quickly darted out and headed to practice.

Swift Heart had been waiting at her car when she heard the awful noise. "Someone is not taking care of their vehicle." Frowning she looked around for the source.

Grumpy approached her, grinning. "I see you've heard my handiwork," he said.

Raising her brow she looked at him. Before she had a chance to say anything however, A frustrated roar came from the distressed truck. Brave Heart slammed the cab door open and stormed around to the hood. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked the engine.

"Oh, a number of things," Grumpy said quietly so only Swift Heart could hear as he examined his nails, "enough to make sure that thing will never start again."

"Shut up! You did that?" It was rhetorical of course. She was grinning from ear to ear as she watched her ex struggle.

"Who else would know how to wreck an engine so thoroughly," Grumpy smiled. "So do you like my surprise?"

"You are a mad genius! I love it." Seeing Brave Heart jam his thumb and swear audibly she laughed. "But why did you do it? I know you didn't get along with him so this can't be just for my benefit." Swift Heart looked to him for an answer.

"Well... actually it was for your benefit. After what he did to you I had to do something and... well… this was the best thing I could think of," Grumpy smiled nervously. "Because I really like you, Swift Heart."

Her ears stood up in shock. Seeing the parking lot filling with curious students she gripped Grumpy's hand and dragged him to a more secluded spot. "Did I hear you right? You like me?"

"Yeah, you heard me right." Grumpy smiled, "I really like you Swift Heart. I just didn't think I had a chance because... well you're out of my league and you were dating Brave Heart."

She twisted her foot, suddenly feeling nervous herself. "Well yeah those are fair points. Plus I really didn't acknowledge you till recently. Publicly anyway." Meeting hid eyes she added, "I always secretly admired how you didn't need to be part of the 'in crowd.' You are always true to you. Plus, I love a guy who's good with his hands." To emphasise bet point she swiveled an ear back towards Brave Heart.

"Oh well... thanks," Grumpy said. "Should we get out of here before Brave Heart starts to think this wasn't an accident?"

Giggling she nodded. Standing on her tip toes she kissed his cheek. "Thank you Grumpy. You make me feel very special."

"Well want to go for ice cream then, or something else you like?" Grumpy offered, blushing from the kiss.

"Ice cream sounds good. Want me to drive?"

"Well my car's still here so I should probably drive it home or it'll get towed. Thanks for the offer though," Grumpy said.

She nodded. "Alright. We can drive separately to the place then. Besides, our peeps don't need anything more to gossip about."

"I'm sure they'll be plenty occupied," Grumpy said as they headed for their cars. Grumpy's machine started easily and he waved to Swift Heart in her convertible.

Unable to resist, Swifty pulled up alongside Brave Heart. "Uhoh Brave Heart. Car not starting?"

"Dang thing just won't turn over." Brave Heart looked up and glared at her, "Whaddya you care about it?"

"Oh I don't. I just couldn't help but notice." Pulling her sunglasses down she smirked, "you are making quite the fool of yourself. Hmmm twice in the same week. Not looking good boo boo." Sliding them back up she revved her engine, "I hope you know a good mechanic."

Brave Heart just growled then sighed, "Wish I did." He looked up, "Alright show's over everyone now go!" he growled. Everyone who was watching dispersed and after about 15 minutes they were gone, leaving Brave Heart to sit in his car seat. "Harmony, where are you when I need ya?"

Harmony had opted to stay in the building till everyone was gone. She was mortified after hearing the break up in the hall and had spent the day holed up in her classroom. Exiting the school she saw a lone pickup still in the lot. Recognizing the driver she went over, concerned "Hey Brave Heart."

"Harmony?" he looked up. "Hi. Umm sorry about everything that's happened. I should have done something sooner but... I don't know," Brave Heart slumped forwards on his steering wheel.

Walking around to the passenger side she let herself in. "What's done is done. Nothing we can do to change that. We both knew what we were getting into, and I don't regret a moment." Placing her hands on his shoulders she said, "It sucks how things went down but now we can start fixing things."

"Thanks, but I'll have to start with my truck. Thing won't start. Guess I should call a tow truck before Principal Norman does," Brave Heart pulled out his cell phone.

"I can take you home from the garage." Seeing the small stream of smoke coming from the hood she frowned, "I hate to say it daddyo, but I thinking your truck had some help misbehaving."

"Great, after today that could be anyone." Brave Heart dialed his phone, "thanks for the offer Harmony." Brave Heart gave her a kiss before putting the phone to his head.

"-and a scoop of rocky road." Swift Heart told the person assembling her sundae.

"You want the works?" She was preferring to toppings. "Oh Yea load it up."

Turning to Grumpy she asked, "What are you getting?"

"Neapolitan with chocolate sauce and sprinkles," Grumpy said, "unless you have a better suggestion. I've never really been on a date before," he admitted.

"Uhhhhh date? Is that what this is?" She asked him while trying to swallow her panic.

"I guess so. We're eating together at a restaurant and I just said I like you. Sorry is this too much?" Grumpy asked.

Swift Heart shook her head, "It's just surprising. I didn't think I'd be ready to date again so soon. I'm just adjusting to this." Smiling she gave his hand a squeeze, "It is definitely not too much."

"Well you didn't expect me to sabotage your stupid ex's truck," Grumpy said, taking his now finished sundae to a table with Swift Heart.

"No I did not." Sitting next to him she just looked at him for a moment. "It's all so easy with you Grumpy. Something just feels right. I never felt like this with any of my boyfriend's."

"Oh wow that's, umm I've never done this before," Grumpy took a few bites of his ice cream before asking: "Well forgive me for this but, why do I hear everyone calling you a... prude?" he prepared for any backlash he might be receiving.

Rolling her eyes she took a big spoonful of sundae. "It's because I get uncomfortable when the others discuss their sex life. Some things I just don't want to know."

"Ah OK then," Grumpy said, digging into his ice cream again. "Well I'll keep that in mind. So is Tenderheart off your back yet?"

"For the most part. I really impressed him with my final grade. It showed I could take math seriously." Licking some whipped cream she asked him, "Is there a subject you're bad at?"

"Gym," Grumpy said. "I don't mind exercise but I just can't go for what Loyal Heart wants me to most of the time."

"I agree with you there. I don't mind team stuff once in a while but mostly they slow me down. I hear you are pretty good on shop class though. Or as Brave Heart put it, an obnoxious know-it-all." Seeing him scowl she laughed.

"I'm good with my hands, I like to build and fix things. What problem does he have with that?" Grumpy asked.

"I think it was more the fact you never broke the table saw," she told him.

"So he was the one who did that," Grumpy said. "How on earth did he manage that?"

"Yeah, I remember that all too well. Why Perfect let him keep taking the class after that I'll never know." Grumpy groaned.

"I dunno. But that was it really. Brave Heart didn't like to be bested by people not his friends."

"He was such a child!" Rolling her eyes she continued, "He was acting like his whole life depended on that game. It was ridiculous."

"That's just crazy. I gotta ask: what did you see in him?" Grumpy scooped more ice cream into his mouth as he waited for her answer.

"He was really sweet most of the time and he made me laugh. Plus the way he asked me out was really cute! He set up signs along my favorite jogging trail that listed all the things he liked about me. He was waiting at the end of it with flowers." Swift Heart put her spoon down, "The beginning was great, we were both so happy. Then I guess we realized how different we were."

Grumpy swallowed his mouthful of ice cream before asking, "Was this before or after... well the incident at the track?"

"Before. Around the time Indy came actually" Swift Hearts eyes narrowed in thought as she realized the correlation of the two events.

"You know, something about that guy seems off and I don't mean because he's Japanese," Grumpy hastily defended himself. "I see him talking to himself and he's even weirder than the other paranormals."

"I know right! He gives me the shivers!" She agreed enthusiastically.

"Well," Grumpy leaned forwards, "Don't tell anyone but after I accidentally bumped into him I've been seeing strange things."

Leaning forwards as well she asked "What kinds of things?" That shiver was returning, and Swift Heart was pretty sure it wasn't from the ice cream.

"Strange shimmering things and this morning during gym class I swear I heard something roaring, or screaming." Grumpy shivered, "Loyal Heart left the class and I heard more, then it stopped."

"Shimmering? What do you mean shimmering?" She left the screaming alone, not really wanting to hear what that was about.

"Like heat waves or mirage shimmers," Grumpy explained.

"So you couldn't make anything out clearly?" She asked.

"Not yet but I swear I heard the old boss at the track yelling at me the other day. But he died in an accident a couple months ago," Grumpy shuddered.

Jumping back startled she was able to keep her voice down "You're hearing dead people? All because you bumped Indy, so creepy! I don't understand how that's possible!"

"Me either. I hate to suggest it but if you accidentally bumped into him then maybe it would happen to." Grumpy shook his head, "I just hope I'm hallucinating."

"Oh yea I'll get right on that, " she retorted. Shaking with a little grunt she sat back. "I hope you are too."

"Well enough spook talk. We still have ice cream to eat." Grumpy smiled and took another bite of ice cream. Grinning at him she stole some of his ice cream and quickly put it in her mouth.

"Hey!" Grumpy scowled, then grinned and took a scoop of her ice cream for himself. Swift Heart laughed and continued eating her own sundae.

"You're more of an individual then you think," Grumpy told her. When she looked confused he continued, "Before, you said you admired how I didn't feel the need to fit in. But neither do you. You always do what you want and your friends usually have to keep up with you. You are stubborn and loyal and not afraid of anything. That's why I like you." He smirked at her "and the way you stand up for yourself makes me laugh. You got a good vocabulary." That made her blush.

"You're sweet," Swift Heart said. "But you're wrong about one thing." Grumpy raised his brow, waiting to hear what it was. "I'm scared of water."

He smiled again, "Well nobody's perfect."


	12. Care-a-Lot High Arc, Part 8

Chapter 12

Standing in the tunnel that led from his home, Blue could almost feel the sun rays that were bouncing off the pearl lined walls. It had been three months since he had holed himself inside the Royal Caves unable to face the memories outside of them. But now he was feeling different. White Fang being reunited with his lost love reminded him that even though he tried to keep things from changing the world turned on. Happiness still existed out there somewhere, even if he couldn't remember how to find it. So today he was going to venture out. Today he was going to try and carry on. Taking a deep breath he slowly walked up the tunnel feeling the sunlight getting warmer the closer he got to the outside. Blinking upon finally emerging he looked out over his kingdom.

Toadstool and King Blade bowed deeply to him. "It is good to see you Kingsire. Please let us know if you require anything."

"Thank you King Blade, I will be sure to do so." Blue attempted a smile for his loyal guard. "I should be back in less than an hour." Taking another deep breath he headed down the trail.

"I think I've almost got it," Renegade watched the magic field in front of him.

"Looks like it. I think that's it." Nova pointed to a spot with her horn, which lit up and highlighted the spot, "If you just push a little harder..."

"Yes!" Renegade smiled, "Thanks Nova!" He nuzzled her then backed off and blushed.

Nova smiled, "Getting sweet on me are ya?" she asked. "Well, all you need is the spell and you can fix that problem."

"Uhh, what problem..." Renegade stumbled over his words.

Nova laughed, "I mean that whole reality shift problem."

"I think that's enough for today kinderlach. You two have been working hard, and frankly it's giving me a headache." White Fang informed them as he came over with Aurora. "You should go do some teenager type stuff for a bit."

"Fang's right. Go on and have some fun. See how much stronger you're getting Nova," Aurora urged them.

"Alright. Com'on Ren I'll race you to the pond!" Nova smiled and headed out of the igloo. Renegade smiled and darted after him.

"Ahh, young love," Aurora said while smiling.

White Fang nudged her gently with his muzzle, "I'm becoming a fan of old love as well, Aurora. Less pressure on making your girl go all weak in the knees."

"Not that you ever had trouble with that," Aurora giggled and nuzzled back against him. "You're sounding much better these days, Fang."

"It would seem having you back in my life has cured me of my old crank-itis. It's a mitzvah!" He exclaimed loudly.

"I'm so happy to hear that," she closed her eyes as she nuzzled against him. "I was thinking, how would you like me to be in your life forever?"

Scoffing he shook his head, "How do you think I would like to have you in my life forever. What kind of mashugana question is that?"

"Well then, the question is: would you like to be my mate White Fang?" Aurora asked.

"Oh no Aurora unacceptable. I don't know how they do it in that screwy unicorn world of yours but here the Stallion asks the mare. It is a tradition we are very proud of and frankly one I have been preparing for." Muttering to himself he moved away from her and retrieved something from his work bench. Returning to her with a full bouquet of Ferona flowers he cleared his throat and stood tall, "Aurora, I would be most honored if you would agree to be my mate. Please allow me to love you till the day I die." He presented her the flowers.

Aurora smirked at White Fang's actions then smiled fully, "Oh Fang of course I will. And I'll love you just as much." She carefully took the flowers with her magic and smelled them. "You grew these yourself?"

"I may have recruited our residential botanist, but yes, most of this was mine. I figured you'd appreciate having your favorite flower back." He gently lipped behind her ear.

Aurora kept smiling, "You know me so well Fang. What kind of ceremony should we have? Perhaps we can find a way to mix a unicorn and pegasus ceremony."

"Whatever makes you happy. Although I would prefer we keep the invite circle small. I don't enjoy being gawked at by people I do not consider my friends," He told her.

"Of course," Aurora agreed, lying down next to him and carefully putting the flowers in a vase she conjured.

-

Nova and Renegade were running neck-in-neck as they approached the pond. Nova whinnied happily as they reached the pond. "There, not even winded anymore."

"You're looking stronger than you used to," Renegade said. "You've got more, uhh, muscle on your leg."

Nova laughed, "You're not used to talking to girls you like are you?"

"Well no..." Renegade admitted. "I even had trouble talking to Treat Heart."

Blues walk had brought him to the pond as well. He didn't seem to notice he wasn't alone. The King was merely walking along, while having a silent conversation with Fauna. "The forest regions leaves are starting to change. Soon they'll be falling. Huh, I just realized our anniversary was a few weeks ago." Looking skyward he closed his eyes briefly, "I love you babe."

Nova looked over at Blue then turned to Renegade and asked, "Who's the spotted stallion over there?"

"That's Blue, our kingsire," Renegade replied.

"He was courting your sister, right?" Nova asked. Renegade nodded. "How do I handle this?" Nova asked.

"Tactfully," Renegade said.

"Not my strong suit but I'll try," Nova said. She turned to Blue and trotted over to him, "Greetings, Kingsire. I'm Nova."

Opening his eyes he looked at the unicorn, "I assume you came through with Aurora. You must be the apprentice she spoke of." His mouth curled up slightly in the tinest of grins, "The one who made the portal."

"Yeah, I kinda overpowered that spell," Nova admitted, "but it turned out to be a good thing. I mean look I ran all the way from White Fang's place to here without getting worn out, and White Fang and Aurora seem happy. It's nice to see a place that's not just endless forest everywhere."

"I'm glad you are enjoying yourself." Glancing at Renegade he took a moment to clear his eyes, making sure he saw yellow and black instead of brown and white. "I'm sure Ren is enjoying showing you around."

Nova laughed, "He enjoys spending time with me that's for sure. He told me about what's happened..." she looked up at him, "Sorry, Ren told me to try and be tactful, something I'm not too good at."

"At least you are aware of that. I appreciate your sympathies." Making eye contact with Renegade he said, "I decided to attempt getting on with my life, hence why I'm out here."

"That's good," Renegade said.

"I love the falls Blue. It's nice to be able to run around and get some real exercise," Nova said.

"I seem to recall that you unicorns are not exactly the most physically fit of the immortals. You can stay as long as you want. And if anyone is rude towards you please tell me. I will set them straight."

"Nope we're not but I'm not letting that stop me. I'm already more fit than anyone back home, and if anyone's rude I'll just sort them out myself." Nova's horn flared and a mud ball lifted out of the ground before dropping back to its spot. "But thanks for the offer, Kingsire."

His smile broadened, "You're welcome Nova."

"So where's the rest of your little 'wolf pack' as Renegade calls them?" Nova looked around, "I hope Red learned his lesson after the last time."

"Yeah, I hope so too. Frosty should be around here somewhere, we're still close to the arctic region," Renegade said. "You should come see the others, they've been worried about you, Blue."

Looking embarrassed Blue said, "I haven't spoken to them for a while. I'm not sure where they are."

"Give me a sec, Kingsire, or should I call you Blue?" she asked as her horn lit up white.

"Blue," he answered while looking at her horn.

"OK Blue." Nova stood for a moment then spoke up again, "Frosty's coming this way, Thunder's in his nesting ground, Red and Dagger are south of here but not together."

"Dagger? I don't believe I am familair with her." He looked to Renegade for clarification.

"A friend of ours. She's a porcupine and she's been trying to get Red Snout out of that gang he's in," Renegade clarified.

"I just hope Frosty's feeling better today," Nova said, "and a little less loopy."

Blue sniffed for his friend. Smelling him a several yards to the east he opted to go meet him. There was no way he could go to the grey wolf grounds yet. "Has his albinism been acting up?"

"That's gotta be it," Nova said as he and Renegade joined Blue.

"It's good that you're feeling better, Blue. I was worried about you too," Renegade said.

"Yeah well, like I said I'm trying. I can't make any long term promises." His ears flicked forward and Frosty became visible.

He was chewing on some leaves but stopped when he saw them. "Blue. You're out?"

"So it seems."

With a whinny Frosty trotted up to them, wings flapping "I've missed you man! Thunder and I have been freaking out!"

A new form of guilt took root in him, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted that way-"

Frosty cut him off, "Forgiven and forgotten. You don't have to explain. Really. We get it." He smiled at Renegade and Nova, "How did you guys get him out?"

"We didn't, we jsut ran into him at the pond," Renegade said.

"Today's the first day I've met him," Nova added. "So you feelin' any better today Frosty?"

He nodded, smiling widely, "Yup! Now that we are in autumn at my herd grounds I'll be much better. Thanks for the concern." Seeing Blue was about to apologize again for not being there for him Frosty hurriedly cut him off, "It wasn't the worst flair up I've had. It's fine. Where are you guys headed?"

"Just to meet up with you really. I don't want to go too far. And I would go find Thunder but...you know."

Frosty nodded to Blue and looked at the other two, "What were you guys up to?"

"Just getting out after lessons, went for a run," Nova said.

"Look at Nova. She's looking pretty strong these days isn't she?" Renegade asked.

Frosty looked her over and nodded. "She is indeed." Slyly he added, "And I bet you are keeping a very close eye on her progress, aren't you Ren."

Blue chuckled, "Yeah he is. He wants to make sure she is perfectly fit. He is nice enough to look her over constantly."

"Umm," Renegade stammered.

Nova laughed, "Yeah's he's been watching me. Good think I like him or I might be mad."

"You like me?" Renegade started smiling.

Frosty nudged him, "She just said that man."

"Of course I did. You're a great guy, Renegade," Nova said, nuzzling him. Renegade blushed.

"Hey Blue, let's give them a moment. I know where there are moonberries nearby." Blue all but ran with Frosty to the nearby bush.

"So, you really like me?" Renegade said.

"Yeesh, are you going deaf?" Nova gave Renegade a sideways look, "I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. You're fun and you work hard on your magic and you've been helping get my exercise."

"Well I like you too," Renegade said, smiling and nervously nuzzling her back.

While Blue ate a few berries Frosty contented himself with spying on the new couple. That's why his next question surprised Blue, "How hard is it for you right now to be here?"

"I'm fine Frosty."

Looking to his friend and King, Frosty lost his jovial air, "Blue. We've been friends since we were two months old. You may have the others fooled but I know you are not okay. Do you need me to make an excuse for you so you can go home?"

Blue felt relief wash over him, "Please. and then would you get Thunder and come by?"

"Of course man." He looked back at Renegade and Nova and called, "Bow chicka bow wow. Ren is getting some action!"

Nova grunted and her magic flare. Frosty yelped as he was lifted into the air and pelted with mudballs before being dropped in the mud where the balls had come from. "You're so classy, you know that Frosty?" she asked.

Coughing up mud he called back, "I am well aware! But thank you for noticing." Hearing Blue laughing hysterically he almost could have kissed Nova.

Nova looked over at the laughing Blue. "Like my antics do you?" she asked, smirking.

He nodded, "Oh man. You remind me of Fauna. She would have pulled something similar for sure if Frosty had said that to her." Gradually he got himself under control.

"Yeah, you're not the only one who's noticed that," Renegade nodded.

"I wish I could have met her. Yeesh how many times have I said that now?" Nova asked.

"About six so far," Renegade said.

"I like hearing it," Blue told them. "I wish you could have met her too. She would have had some great pointers for increasing your strength." Frosty nodded in agreement, still ridding himself of mud. "And at least one of those plans may or may not have gotten you in trouble with our council."

"Yeah, I really care about their approval," Nova rolled her eyes.

"You really sound like my sister now," Renegade nodded and smiled, putting his wing over Nova's silver back. Nova didn't object.

"Well thanks for keeping me company, but I think I've reached my limit of social interaction for today." Blue told them.

"Alright, see ya later Blue," Renegade waved as Blue flew away. "So should we go see Thunder then?" he asked.

"We can if you want." Frosty told him.

"I'd rather go see what Dagger's up to," Nova said. she carefully pulled herself from Renegade and used her polymorph spell to change into a hawk. "You don't have to stick to me all the time you know, Ren, I'll be fine on my own if you want to go see Thunder."

"You go independent woman." Frosty commended her. "What will it be Ren?"

"I'm not gonna be clingy. I'll see you later Nova," Renegade nuzzled her and took off with Frosty. Nova smiled and flew south towards where Dagger was.

"Alright, let's go find Thunder." Frosty led the way to the grey wolf nesting grounds.

Dagger watched the Hawk as it landed on the ground next to her. Nearby some other members of her herd were taking an interest in it as well.

"I'm guessing they don't see hawks around here much," Nova said, looking at Dagger.

"Only if they are members of one of the hawk herds. But we don't generally take our guardian forms unless we have to. The bird herds least of all." She told her.

"Yeah well I don't normally have wings." As Nova spoke she changed back to her natural form.

Dagger shook her head and clucked her tongue, "Aww poor helpless unicorn. Woe is you. No wings, just a very magical horn."

"Mock me all you want, Dagger, but I'm getting stronger." Nova smiled, "so how's your friend? Does Red Snout feel guilty about it or is he still being a jerk."

"Thalia is good. She told me Red Snout actually did apologize for what happened. I was as shocked as she was. So no about that he is not still being a jerk," she told her.

"That's good," Nova said. "So what are you going to do today?"

"I have guard duty later, but until then I was planning on hanging around here. If you are really that bored you are welcome to hang around," Dagger told her.

"Might as well, not much else to do," Nova noticed that everyone was staring at her. "Guess they all want to gawk at the unicorn."

"Well can you blame them? Imagine if I just popped up in your grove one day? Don't you think I'd be the center of attention too?" Dagger asked.

Nova laughed, "Yeah probably."

Dagger faced her herd, "Fellow porcupines, and our distinguished alpha's mate from the lion herd," she nodded briefly at the creamsicle colored stallion, "May I introduce Nova. As you can see, she is a unicorn. Any other questions you have can be directed to her. No need to stare at her."

"There are some really nice stone outcroppings we could sunbathe on. Since we are on the edge of the desert region we get some good light. Or we could see if the prairie flowers have turned to fruit yet and eat those," Dagger suggested.

"Why not, lead on Dagger," Nova nodded to her.

Dagger lead the way into the prairie bush and began looking for the elusive fruit. "So things are going good with Renegade?"

"Yup." Nova nodded, "He's a great guy. We've been studying together a lot and well... I like him."

"As you should. He is a really good guy. Frosty likes him a lot. Plus you seem to have been helping him through whatever was making him depressed. Some kind of reality shift thing?" Dagger asked.

"Yeah. Apparently he accidentally changed the reality of those care bear people when he was arguing with Red Snout," Nova explained.

Dagger sighed, "That boy is not happy unless he is causing trouble, I swear. He can get anybody's temper on the rise with only a few words."

"I gathered. So are these things ripe enough to eat?" Nova asked, referring to the fruit.

Sniffing the fuschia fruit she shook her head. "Almost but not quite. Ah! These however are perfect." She led Nova to the bush a few feet over. "Watch out for the branches, they're sharp."

"Got it," Nova bent down and carefully bit one off the stem. "Mmmmm!" She chewed slowly before swallowing, "what did you call these?"

"Well before they are fruit we call them prairie flowers. But once they turn they are called Prarie pears." Dagger expertly snatched one off its branch and took a bite.

"Well they're good. I'd like to try that sunbathing, I could probably use it. There's a ton of shade in the grove," Nova said.

"Well grab some fruit for us and I'll take you there." Dagger took a few of her own and waited for Nova to get a haul. The rocks weren't far, about a 7 minute walk. Dagger bunched her haunches and leapt up the rock pile till she was on top. Looking over the edge she made sure Nova was getting up alright.

It took Nova two jumps top get up to the rock pile, "Not bad for a unicorn huh?" she asked, her own haul of fruit floating above her as she lay down.

"Not bad at all." Out of habit dagger checked the area to make sure nothing dangerous was around. "Is there anything you miss about the grove Nova?"

"Not much, I go back once a week to make sure my parents aren't worried about me. I didn't really have many friends back there, they all thought I was weird for wanting to be stronger," Nova replied.

"Well no accounting for taste." Dagger told her. "Don't expect total utopia here though. We have those people who hate different also," Dagger took a bite a fruit, a bit aggressively.

"Yeah, I noticed. But at least I have more chances here. We share our grove with pixies and fairies. They kinda migrated there about a thousand years ago, or so Aurora tells me," Nova said.

"Really? What are they like? Are they really as mischievous as everyone says?"

"The pixies yes, got a few burrs under my hooves from them. The fairies are more like forest caretakers, though a some join the pixies they're usually victims of them too," Nova replied.

"I wish we could interact with other immortals. It gets so monotonous just seeing the same faces day in and day out," Dagger confided to her.

"You and me both, that's why I'm spending most of my time here. You could visit the grove. Now that the portal's open unicorns and pegasus can come and go as they please," Nova suggested.

"I may just do that. Assuming I don't have guard duty of course. Talk about pointless. All our enemies are dead! Who is going to be using the portals? The only real threat to a security breach is dead too!" Realizing what she said Dagger gasped, "Crap! That sounded insensitive! Don't tell the guys I said that!"

"Relax I won't," Nova reassured her.

Thunder had listened as Frosty rambled on about Blue coming out of the cave and how good it was and how it meant things were getting back to normal. "That is really good Frosty, but remember the plan, we can't push him."

"Yeah yeah, I know. I could tell he had reached his limit so I sent him home," Frosty reassured him.

The grey wolf Alpha looked to Ren, "Your spell work go okay?"

"Very good. I have all the connections between the realities I just need to get ready and cast the spell," Renegade told Thunder.

"That's great. I knew you'd figure it out. Blue still doesn't know that's what you were working on right?" Thunder asked him.

Renegade shook his head, "No and I can't let him know especially not since I plan to visit the Kingdom of Caring to apologize to them after I fix this."

Thunder and Frosty's eyes widened, "Are you insane? Why would you do that?"

"Yeah, there is no way they would know it's you doing this. Just let it ride itself out!" Frosty added.

"I can't. The actual spell doesn't replace memories gained during the shift so they'll remember everything. If I don't explain what happened it could destroy them." Renegade sighed, "They helped me come around and if not for them I wouldn't exist." He looked up and explained, "It was their enemy that cloned me from Fauna, so yeah that's it."

"I know Renegade. It was that same enemy who killed her." Shaking his head Thunder continued less harshly, "I pray to the gods that Blue never finds out. You are too noble for your own good sometimes."

"Well that's one of the things I like about him." Nova flapped down in her hawk form before changing back to her unicorn form.

"Nova!" Renegade blushed, causing her to laugh.

"Dagger got called for guard duty early so I decided to come and see you. Talking about that trip you plan to take when you fix this?" She asked.

"Yeah. Actually I was wondering if you wanted to come with me, meet my sister's second family," Renegade offered.

"Sure, why not. No rule says I can't see them," Nova replied.

"I believe that depends on your interpretation." Thunder muttered.

Frosty shrugged, "She has a point. She isn't' pegasus and therefore only has to respect our laws, not necessarily follow them."

"Yup. Besides I want to meet new people," Nova said.

"Well we just have about a month before the spell can be safer to cast," Renegade said. "Hopefully I don't mess it up."

"Stop worry about it, you'll be fine," Nova reassured him.

"Yeah power of positive thinking man. Don't make me have Silver Foot give you his optimism speech," Frosty teased him.

"He has an optimism speech? This I've gotta hear," Nova chuckled.

Frosty nodded, "His accent gets thicker too as he says it and you swear you can see him standing on a grassy knoll somewhere just shinning in the sunlight with his mane and tail blowing in the breeze." He did his best to imitate his Alpha's stance. It did not have the desired effect however as Thunder began laughing. Both Renegade and Nova cracked up too.

"You sound just like our Alpha, Frosty," Renegade managed between laughs.

"Really? Wow thanks Ren. I mean that." And he did. Frosty thought the world of his Alpha. Since he never knew his father, he had always been an ideal substitute.

"I don't know him as well as you do but still. So what should we do now?" Nova asked.

Thunder chuckled, "Little Nova, do you always need to be on the move?"

"It's hard not to be. I have a lot more energy than I used to," Nova nodded. "We could always go do some sunbathing. Oh wait, Frosty the albinism, sorry," she apologized.

"Don't sweat it. I'm used to it. We could take you to see the Falls. Have you seen them yet?" Frosty asked.

"Not yet. Sure that would be great. By flight then?" she asked.

"Of course," Renegade said. Nova smiled and changed back to her hawk form.

Thunder and Frosty took to the air and led the way to the famous water falls. All seven cascaded loudly down the mountain to gather in a pool below. Rainbows formed everywhere from the large spray sent up by the impact of the water on rocks.

"Wow," Nova stared in awe at the view.

"Like the view?" Renegade asked.

"I love it. I've never seen anything like it before." Nova just stared at the view.

"Yeah it's definitely a tourist stop." Thunder teased. "I will admit they are pretty cool. It's just hard to stay here for long because they are so loud."

"Well what else haven't I seen? I could use a full tour," Nova said.

"Com'on, we'll show you!" Renegade offered.


	13. Care-a-Lot High Arc, Part 9

Chapter 13

Loyal Heart sat in his office, tapping his pen on desk. He had just dismissed his gym class for lunch and his mental sense was going off. It was faint but something was coming.

The dog was jolted out of his trance when Proud Heart entered his office with her lunch bag in hand. She smiled at him as she approached his desk. "Have a good class today, Loyal?" she asked, taking a seat next to him.

"Oh yeah I did," Loyal Heart smiled and gave her a kiss. Proud Heart opened her lunch and offered and orange to him, as she had begun making his lunches for him. Loyal Heart took the orange and started to peel it but just stared at it.

"Loyal Heart, dear. What's wrong?" Proud Heart asked.

"That obvious huh?" he looked over at her, managing a weak smile.

"Loyal, you haven't even tried to compliment me. I don't expect it of you but I know you're too affectionate not to." Proud Heart set her avocado and bacon sandwich down, "please tell me what's wrong, Loyal Heart."

"Well…" Loyal set the orange down. "It's hard to explain. It has to do with the paranormal club."

"Oh, you mean that strange club you have with Valiant, Snowy and Independent Bear?" Proud Heart sighed. "Loyal Heart, I love you but I really don't understand that club of yours. I mean do you sit around talking about ghosts and weird sights in the sky all day?"

"Well sort of." Loyal Heart finally began to eat his orange. After swallowing a slice he spoke up again, "Do you promise to listen if I tell you what we do and not just leave?"

"I won't leave you but I can't promise I won't get weirded out," Proud Heart said.

Loyal Heart took a deep breath, "Alright. The four of us have spiritual powers and we can sense strange things. Ghosts mainly but also monsters called hollows, large black monsters with white masks that eat souls. Valiant, Snowy, Independent and myself use our powers to…" Loyal Heart looked up at Proud Heart, who was just staring at him. "You think I'm crazy don't you?"

"Well…" Proud Heart was at a loss for words. "I don't want to say anything to hurt you Loyal Heart."

"Well then maybe I can show you. You trust me right?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course I do," Proud Heart reassured him.

"Good." Loyal Heart suddenly gave Proud Heart a deep kiss. Proud Heart was surprised but she eagerly accepted. As they kissed Loyal Heart concentrated and pulled her closer. Proud Heart felt a jolt run through her body as they pulled apart.

"Wow. That was amazing. What was that?" she asked, smiling but looking a bit frazzled.

"Well a kiss and an energy transfer," Loyal Heart stood up.

"Energy transfer?" Proud Heart was confused.

"Just watch," Loyal Heart held out his hand. As Proud Heart watched she saw energy gathering in her boyfriend's outstretched and with a blue flash of light a sword shaped like a blue wireframe appeared in his hand.

"Holy…what is that?!" Proud Heart pointed, scooting back a couple steps in her chair.

"My fullbring. I can focus the spiritual energy in my body into forming weapons to fight hollows," Loyal Heart explained before dissipating his sword.

"That is not what I expected to see," Proud Heart suddenly found herself hungry and wolfed down her sandwich along with the rest of her lunch, startling Loyal Heart somewhat.

"You're not scared of me, are you?" Loyal Heart asked as he sat back down next to her.

"A little," Proud Heart admitted. "But I'll get used to it."

"Thanks, Proud Heart." Loyal Heart gave her a soft kiss before going back to his food.

Proud Heart was about to speak up when suddenly she heard an otherworldly screaming that felt like it was racing up and down her spine. "What the hell was that!?" Proud Heart let a rare swear word drift from her mouth.

Loyal Heart stood up. "Oh crap no!" he said as two more similar roars broke through the area. "Hollows!"

"Those monsters you told me about?!" Proud Heart was shaking, "What do we do?"

"Stay close to me, please," Loyal Heart helped her out of her chair. "I promise I'll protect you."

"Oh my." Proud Heart smiled despite the situation as Loyal Heart pulled her out of his office.

Grumpy froze when he heard the roaring. Swift Heart was passing when she saw him freeze up, "Is something wrong, Grumpy?" she asked, noticing a few others freezing.

"I heard something, something… I don't know what," Grumpy said.

"What could you hear that I don't?" Swift Heart asked.

A collective gasp arose as everyone turned to see Indy walking in with a kimono. And a sword strapped to his belt.

"I knew something was wrong with him," Swift Heart said as he raised his hands in front of him.

No one else could see but a faint shimmer other than Valiant and Snowy, who stood up and watched the blue energy forming in between his hands.

"What the hell is he doing?" Valiant asked Snowy.

"I think he's about to give everyone a dose of spiritual energy. You heard the hollows right?" he asked Valiant.

"What are you talking about, sports fans?" Champ asked. Indy suddenly swung his arms outward and the energy exploded outwards, filling the whole school. Everyone blinked and shivered then the otherworldly roar was heard again.

This time, Swift Heart shivered too, "OK. I heard it that time." She said.

Snowy and Valiant jumped out of their seats. "You heard that right?" they asked everyone at their table simultaneously.

"How could I miss it? What's going on Snowy?" Share asked.

"And what's that sword that just appeared on you, Valiant?" Love-a-Lot asked, pointing to the katana that had appeared at Valiant's side.

"Why did you do that, Indy!?" Valiant stormed towards the bear and grabbed him by his collar. "It could attract more hollows."

"There's already two dozen of them here, and if they can't see the hollows then they won't be able to avoid them," Indy retorted, breaking away from the wolverine.

Love-a-Lot came up behind and grabbed Valiant's shoulder, "What's going on? What's a hollow?"

A louder roar was heard and suddenly the windowed wall of the lunch room was broken down by a massive black creature that looked like a giant slug with arms and white skull mask.

"That's a hollow!" Valiant shouted, drawing his sword.

Three piercing shots were heard and three blue arrows struck the giant hollow, causing it to gasp out in pain and dissolve. Everyone turned to see Snowy Heart standing with transparent blue energy bow on his left arm and his hand pulled back.

"Snowy, what? I…" Share was at a loss for words.

"I'm a quincy and Valiant Heart is a soul reaper," Snowy explained, "this is what we do at the paranormal club."

"Train to fight these things?" Share asked.

"Yes, now everyone get outside!" Indy shouted, as he and Valiant drew their swords, and began ushering people outside and Snowy pulled the fire alarm.

Defiant Heart was outside when the energy wave hit him. He turned and saw the school's population exiting then looked up as a giant hand came down and crushed him.

Loyal Heart was already outside when everyone else emerged from the building and they saw him jump up at and split the mask of the hollow that had just killed Defiant Heart before landing next to Proud Heart, who was shaking but still smiled at him.

"Are you alright?" he asked, turning to her.

"I'm just fine, Loyal Heart," She reassured him.

"Good," Loyal Heart smiled and gave her a quick kiss, "go to your friends and stay back, we'll handle this."

"Alright." Proud Heart suddenly gave him a deeper kiss before running past Valiant, Indy and Snowy to join the group of students.

The rest of the A-crowd was staring at Proud Heart as she approached and Love-a-Lot was the first to speak. "Alright, spill Proud. How long have you been involved with coach Loyal Heart?"

"I can't believe it, how many teachers are dating students?" Swift Heart groaned, a hand going to her forehead.

"Well, I'll explain but maybe we should avoid those things." Proud Heart pointed back at the approaching mass of monsters that the paranormal club was facing down.

"So how many are there, Snowy?" Loyal Heart asked.

"About 38 left," Snowy replied.

"Well we have to hold the line here." Indy began charging his sword with energy.

"Might as well go all out. Electrify Alastor!" Valiant's sword erupted with purple lightning and in a moment he was holding a broadsword crackling with purple lightning.

"I'll hold them back here, just make sure this don't get past," Snowy drew back on his bow and fired an arrow at a small flying hollow that came too close to him as the other three charged forwards.

"So, this whole paranormal club has been about this? Think ya know some guys and then, wow," Champ scratched the back of his head.

"Homme, I can't even imagine what this is?" Illusion voiced.

"Well it's fun to watch at least," Bright Heart said. Gentle Heart was shaking in his arms and he was holding her close.

"So you just started seeing him after class? Is that how you passed gym last year?" cheer questioned Proud Heart.

"What! No!" Proud Heart shook her head, "I passed just fine and I still don't enjoy it. I'm not going to use that to get ahead, besides you've seen my grades you know I earned those Cs just fine," she retorted.

"Sorry, but with the whole thing with Brave Heart well…" Share turned to Swift Heart.

"Hey, at least she didn't cheat on anyone with him, and this does answer why she keeps turning down dates," Swift Heart said.

"This is trippy, Brave Heart," Harmony watched the battle going on and then rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.

"That's one way to put it," Brave Heart nodded.

"I'm going to have a few choice words with coach Loyal Heart when this is over," Principal Normal tapped his finger on his arm impatiently.

"Leave them be, Norman," True Heart glared at him, "You aren't doing anything to Harmony for seeing Brave Heart so you have to either let their drama and Loyal Heart's romance continue, ot fire both of them and I know how hard it is to get good teachers out here."

Norman just grumbled and Noble Heat put a hand on True Heart's shoulder, smiling at her for her victory.

"Ugg, why do they have to do this?" Tenderheart was sitting on the ground, rubbing his temples as he tried to work out the frustration.

"Cheer up, dear," Perfect gave Tenderheart a kiss, "It's not like we have a conventional relationship."

"I know but…" Tenderheart was unable to say anything and just groaned.

Loyal Heart bisected a hollow that looked like a moth. "Six down." He said, turning and slicing the arm off another.

"I have nine. Hado 33, Sokatsui!" Valiant shot out a blue ball of fire blew into another hollow, knocking it back, allowing Indy to cut it down.

"That's five, halfway there," Indy said, looking up and jumping before disintegrating a smaller one with a blast of spiritual energy.

Snowy stood back, taking shots at Hollows that were getting too close for his liking. "10 more to go," he said shooting another down, "nine…"

The crisis ended faster than anyone could have guessed, leaving the paranormal club to return and receive thanks and pats on the back from everyone involved.

True Heart looked up at the principal and said, "Considering the damage to the school and that Christmas break starts tomorrow, perhaps we should just let everyone go home now."

"Bah! Fine, just let them go," Norman turned and stormed off, grumbling about who knows what.

"Well this won't be easy to fix," Noble Heart stood with the rest of the teachers looking at the massive hole the first hollow had torn in the wall, "At least no one was hurt."

"Actually, I saw Defiant Heart get killed," Loyal Heart said, sighing sadly.

"He had a tough lot in life, I wish I could say he'll be missed but even we didn't notice," Perfect sighed, leaning on Tenderheart.

"Considering the circumstances, we'll hold off on questions about your relationship, Loyal Heart, until tomorrow," Grams said, turning to the dog.

"Heh, well thanks," Loyal Heart said. "then if no one minds, I'm going to go make sure Proud Heart's alright."

"Hey, did anyone see Independent Bear? I didn't see him with the students after those thing vanished," True Heart said.

"Hmm, odd," Noble Heart scratched his chin. "He probably left on his own, but still we should have seen him leave."

"Why did that attack take place?" Loyal Heart mused to himself. "Even with Indy here there wasn't a boost of spiritual power big enough to cause that kind of invasion. Huh!" he looked up seeing rustling leaves, "must be my imagination," he shook his head off, not noticing the blue monkey watching him from a nearby tree. The blue monkey smiled then vanished into a mirror.

A/N: sorry that chapter was so slapdash but I just wanted to have a little fun here and bring in some more Bleach stuff for a bit. FAuna did not write this so don't get mad at her for the poorer quality here, I promise what comes next will be much better.


	14. Return Arc, Part 1

Chapter 14

"Alright here goes," Renegade took a deep breath and began reciting the spell for reality re-integration. Nova, Aurora and White Fang all just stood and watched as the rainbow colored energy began to swirl in Renegade's hooves and began swirling around.

Nova's gaze drifted to the grid that represented the realities and watched as the spot that represented the Care Bears current reality pushed closer to where it should be. "Wow, he's really doing it," she said.

White Fang sniffled and fanned himself, "I'm so proud! He's making me all pheklempt!"

"I know," Aurora leaned up against White Fang.

"This is pretty cool," Nova nodded.

Renegade kept concentrating as the colors began glowing white and finally the spell ended, the realities reintegrated. Renegade sat back, panting. "There. I think that should do it."

Going up to his student the elder shaman nosed him, "You did well. Everything is as it should be. Now let's go inside the igloo and have some winter wine and cranberry tarts."

Renegade nodded, "Alright. I could use a break."

"You did great, Ren," Nova nuzzled him as they headed inside.

White Fang whispered to Aurora, "And hopefully he'll forget all about going back to speak with the Care Bears."

"Maybe, but we can't stop him if he does," she sighed. White Fang snorted before moving off to light the fire.

On Christmas Eve in the Kingdom of Caring everyone had gathered in the Hall of Hearts. Confusion and disorder were the order of the day and everyone was either holding someone close or avoiding looking at someone. Proud Heart was holding her son Trust Heart close to her chest, crying slightly.

Cozy put her flippers on the cat's shoulders in comfort, "Proud Heart itssss okay! Everything wasss fixed, and Trussst doesssn't ssseem too bothered by what happened." She smiled down at the baby.

"I know, but I still missed him," Proud Heart said. "I didn't realize how much until now."

"I know exactly how you feel milady," Loyal Heart said, giving her a kiss.

"I can't believe what I did back there," Brave Heart was holding his head in his hands.

Harmony was clinging to his arm, chin resting on his shoulder. "We ended up together boo. It's all good. And I'm sure Swifty isn't harbouring any bad vibes towards you."

"I don't know… will she ever forgive me?" Brave Heart asked, looking up at Swift Heart then immediately looking away.

Defiant Heart was just curled up in a fetal position in his chair, unable to speak to anyone.

Swift Heart was sitting in her chair with her arms crossed and fingers tapping. While it had looked to Brave Heart like she was annoyed with him, she was actually annoyed by the silent treatment Grumpy was giving her. He was sitting next to her but was also sitting with his arms crossed and facing away from her. "You cannot possibly be mad at me," she proclaimed.

"You were going out with Brave Heart after you said you had no feelings for him," was all Grumpy said.

"It's not like I knew I was supposed to be with you! My mind was all screwy! And clearly it didn't work out so get your panties un-twisted and chill."

Arguments and fights were slowly starting to break out until the slamming open of the doors drew all the eyes of everyone in the hall.

"Renegade?" True Heart asked standing up to see him walk in in his human form, accompanied by a young lady with pale skin and silver hair.

Treat Heart watched him come in with wide eyes. The only reason she was still in her seat was because of how their last conversation ended. Birthday gripped her hand under the table for support.

Brave Heart too spoke up, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to apologize to everyone," Renegade said his eyes downcast.

"Apologize for what?" Tenderheart asked.

"I'm at fault for what happened to you over the last few months. I accidentally cast a spell that changed the nature of your reality and I've been working to fix it. Please if you have to be mad at someone then be mad at me." He turned to Grumpy and Swift Heart, "Please, Grumpy, Swift Heart, don't hate each other. Fauna would want you two to be happy, please..." he was practically begging as the young woman put her hand on his shoulder for support.

Grumpy scowled, "Aww sheesh, you had to play that card. I don't hate Swift Heart. I never could. It was just aggravating to see her with Brave Heart, given their history. "

"Please, just hate me if you have to hate someone. I know you can remember everything that happened," Renegade said.

"Knock it off, Ren. You've apologized so just let it be," the woman said. "Sorry, my name's Nova," she added to the rest of the family.

"Hey." Swift Heart responded looking confused, "so who are you exactly?"

"I'm Renegade's friend, though we're probably more than that," Nova smiled.

Renegade looked up at Treat Heat. "Sorry Treat Heart, but I really like her and I think maybe you might be happier as you are now."

Treat Heart squeezed Birthday's hand and nodded. "I still am really glad to see you though."

"Hol' up homme. Dis don' add up. How come did you accidentally cast dis spell on us? You tryin fo' another? An on dat note why you casting against us in de first place." Etienne's Les se fair mood was gone. The spell had affected Gloria and he wanted answers.

"I was yelling at Red Snout and I released a massive burst of magic. I didn't find out what it did until I saw how this place had changed," Renegade said.

"Illy please, I feel fine now and he did fix it," Grateful said, putting a hand on Illusion's arm. Sitting back down Illusion put an arm around Gloria but said no more.

"Are you sure you fixed all the side effects Renegade?" Noble Heart asked while casting a worried look at Defiant.

"No. Memories of the other reality can't be removed. I spent months trying to figure out the best way and this was the only way to avoid causing actual damage," Renegade said.

As Renegade spoke, Defiant got up and hurried out of the Hall of Hearts, still holding his head in his hands. "What happened with him?" Nova asked.

"He died," Loyal Heart replied. "I saw him get crushed by a hollow."

"Oh... that might be a problem," Renegade said.

"Ya think?" Grumpy mocked him earning himself an elbow in the ribs from Swift Heart.

"We will work on fixing Defiant Renegade. But thank you for doing all you could and coming to tell us. I know it wasn't easy, on all accounts." Noble Heart said.

"Well someone should go after him before he does something reckless, sports fan," Champ said. Everyone looked to Swift Heart.

Her mouth fell open, "Seriously? You all want me to go after him?"

"You're the fastest, and if he's agonizing about anything it's probably when he slapped you during that incident with Fauna," True Heart said.

"I'll go too, just in case he does something stupid," Champ offered standing up from his chair.

Groaning and muttering to herself she got up and walked over to Champ. Taking his hand she sped them after Defiant.

They found Defiant standing at the edge of Care-a-Lot just staring down at the world below him. He didn't even notice when Swift Heart and Champ came up behind him until Champ spoke.

"Defiant? What are you going to do?" he asked, looking from the badger to Swift Heart.

"I don't know. I can't think straight," he said, still just staring down.

"Well if that's your problem you should go talk to Tender Heart and Perfect. They can explain it all to you!" Giving a little laugh at her joke, it faded when Swift realized Champ wasn't joining her. "Gotchya, no time to joke."

"I can still feel it." Defiant Heart grabbed his own arms and shuddered, "the pain when that massive hand came down and crushed me. The cold emptiness that followed it was so dark and cold and yet I'm still here."

"But that's good right? You're alive," Champ asked.

"But should I be? Should I even be here?" Defiant asked.

"Of course you should. You heard Renegade. None of what happened to us was real, and he fixed it so everything is as it should be. Including you being alive and kicking," Swift Heart told him.

"Does anyone even want me alive? What about Grumpy he hates me and no one cared about me." Defiant said. "I can't handle all of this, I just." Defiant was about to step over when Champ darted forwards and grabbed him, holding him back from the edge.

"Swift, go get Grumpy. If anyone can get him off of this then it's probably him!" Champ said, holding Defiant who was starting to struggle.

"Son of A-" but Swift Heart was already out of sight before she could finish. Not slowing she blew through the Hall, snatched a yelping Grumpy, and U-turned back the way she came.

"What the hell Swift?"

"Defiant is going to jump! You need to talk him out of it."

"Why me?" But they were already back at the cloud edge. Dropping Grumpy, Swift Heart went to help Champ yank Defiant back onto solid cloud.

Loyal Heart had followed them out and was panting as he arrived and watched as Defiant was held down.

"Let me go!" Defiant shouted, "This is how it has to be."

Before anyone could do anything, Loyal Heart went to Grumpy and hoisted him up from where he had fallen down, before speaking to him, "Grumpy Bear. I asked you at the start of the year how many bones would Defiant have to break before you forgave him and now he's about to kill himself. Do you really want him dead, can you resent him so much for just one really small incident?!"

"Oh you'd be surprised how deep my levels of resent can go Loyal Heart." Grumpy snapped back at him. "But no I do not think Defiant should be dead over hitting Swift Heart."

"Then tell him! It's only a matter of time before he remembers how strong he can get and forces himself over the edge!" Loyal Heart said.

"Alright alright! Let go of me!" He shoved Loyal Heart off and turned to face Defiant. "I'm over the whole you hitting Swift heart thing. Your temper just got the better of you and it happened. I know you learned your lesson and it won't happen again. So knock off this whole trying to kill yourself thing."

Defiant stopped struggling, "You mean it, Grumpy?" he asked.

"Of course he means it," Champ reassured him, nodding to Grumpy who nodded back. "Now let's get you back to the Hall of Hearts, sports fan." Champ and Swift Heart helped Defiant Heart back to the hall.

"We need to get you to see Take Care for psychiatric help," Loyal Heart said as they approached the hall.

"Yea and hopefully he can prescribe some really good happy pills for you." Swift heart added.

"So called 'happy pills' aren't a good answer," Take Care said as he examined Defiant in the hall, "But I can help him."

"Well that's a relief." Noble Heart sighed in relief, "the last thing we need is another tragedy in the family."

True Heart nodded. "It certainly seems like we've had our fair share."

"I think we'll head home now. Thanks for understanding about all of this," Renegade said as he and Nova stood up from the seats they had taken.

"Before we've had a chance to bring our Christmas present in? I'm hurt." Everyone turned to the door to see Love Heart Bear leaning against the one closed door with the other side ajar, smiling at the Care Bear Family.

Brave Heart and Tender Heart exchanged the same shocked look. "Ah know ah already asked this once tonight but what are y'all doing here?" Brave Heart ask the green bear.

Tender heart nodded. "I am also surprised to see you."

"You aren't the only ones," Swift heart called from her seat.

"I just stopped by to give you some season's greetings, and bring you a present," Love Heart replied.

"Well whatever it is, we don't want it!" Grumpy shouted at him.

The door next to love heart slammed open. "Don't want me! Grumpy now I'm hurt!" Fauna stood in the doorway, hands on her hips and looking totally indignant, "Do you know what I had to go through to get up here? And you say you don't want me? How rude!"

Love Heart pushed the door open to reveal that the rest of the Magi were standing behind them.

Everyone shot up and just stared. For a moment all was silent then Swift Heart cried: "FAUNA!" and in an instant she had slammed into Fauna and gripped her in a vice-like hug.

Fauna gasped as Swift Heart's arms closed around her. "Swifty...can't.. breathe..." This only made the rabbit cousin's arms get tighter. Feeling Swift Heart begin to shake Fauna put her arms around her and rested her head on top of Swift Heart's. "It's okay Swifty, I'm here," she murmured.

"But Fauna, how did, you are?" Renegade was stammering and everyone was starting to crowd around Fauna and the Magi.

"Well we can explain, once the greetings are over," Calm Heart said.

Keeping one arm around Swift Heart who was not letting go anytime soon it seemed, Fauna held the other out to her brother. "Seriously, Renegade, get over here and hug me!" Renegade accepted eagerly, hugging his sister with vigor.

"Huh, I've been saying for a while I wish I could have met you and now I have," Nova stood by with her arms folded, smiling at the display.

"This is the greatest thing that's happened since White Fang and Aurora were mated," Renegade managed while he continued to hug his sister.

"Wait what? White Fang? As in crazy old but super gifted shaman White Fang?" Fauna asked while giving her brother a look. "And can someone make sure Grumpy is still breathing? He looks frozen."

"Sure," Nova walked over to Grumpy and gave him a light smack, breaking him out of his stupor.

"Hey!" he glared at Nova.

"That did it," Nova called back to Fauna.

Fauna smiled at him, "Let's try this again. Hey Grumpus."

"Dont you 'hey Grumpus' me! How are you alive? And where have you been? We've been through hell thinking you were dead!" He yelled at her.

Fauna looked guilty, "It's a long story."

"Well we might as well tell you everything," Love Heart said as he, Confidence Heart, Anger Heart, Guidance Heart, Calm Heart and Independent Bear all took seats from the spare chairs near the door.

"When the explosion at No-Heart's castle went off Indy had the good sense to protect us with a wall of spirit energy so we weren't knocked unconscious by the blast," Love Heart began.

"When the smoke cleared we saw that everyone was knocked out, but Fauna got the worst of it. Her body was suffused with the negative energy from the thunder pit," Confidence continued. "She was in pain and her body had shifted unnaturally: her lower body was her pegasus form, her upper left body was human and her upper right body was her grey wolf form, even her head was half human and half wolf."

"Ick!" Playful Heart stuck his tongue out as he formed a mental image of Fauna in that state.

Guidance Heart picked up the story, "Her body was still absorbing dark energy from the thunder pit so we had to get her out of there before it killed her. When we got her back to our place the dark energy had become inert, not an immediate danger to her but potentially dangerous. I had to spend the better part of a month purging the dark energy from her body or it might have killed her."

"When we finished fixing her, Fauna was ready to head right back home but she found this place was different," Calm Heart said.

"Yeah, that was my fault," Renegade said.

"Oh hush, let's hear the rest of the story," Nova gave Renegade a light whack on the back of his head.

"She was most upset when she saw that Swift Heart and Grumpy seemed to have broken up and that there wasn't a grave for her," Calm Heart continued, "She was even too upset to go back to the falls since she thought that place might have changed too."

"So while they sent me up here to keep an eye on you, Fauna decided to go on tour with the rest of The Elements," Indy said.

"So the Japanese exchange student Indy was the real you and not some alternate version?" Bright Heart asked.

"Yes, exactly." Indy nodded, "I was here to see how you had changed and see if you ever changed back."

"And while she was on tour with us, Love Heart offered to teach her some elementalism as something to keep her mind off things, that and she's become a great singer," Anger Heart added.

"I dunno about great but yea I do okay," Fauna said, beaming. "But that's why I couldn't come back, like they said. I was messed up. But I'm here now so finish telling me how much you all missed me."

"Do we really have to?" Valiant Heart asked.

"Yes! I'm egotistical and needy!" she teased him with a wink.

Swift Heart finally released Fauna, only to punch her hard in the arm. "If you EVER do that to me again, I'll wrap you in as much gold as I can find and drop you in a volcano! I don't care how messed up you think you are, mutant looking Fauna is better than no Fauna at all."

"Well I'm just happy your back," Renegade said, finally releasing her.

"So what have you been up to other than mourning over my supposed death?" Fauna asked her brother.

"Well I'm being trained to be a shaman by White Fang," Renegade said, "and Nova's been helping me and I've been helping her to exercise."

"Fine don't tell me." See some of the others still staring Fauna sighed. "Really, it's me. I swear." Quickly she shifted through a few forms to prove her point.

"Definitely her," Tenderheart said.

"What? I was serious I'm a shaman in training now," Renegade protested.

Fauna pinched his cheek. "Well in that case, good for you! How are things back home?"

"Well everyone took your death pretty hard, Blue's been holed up in the royal caves until recently..." Realization hit Renegade like a ton of bricks, "we really should get you back there."

"Got that right! So why are we wasting time here? Let's get her back home," Nova jumped in.

"I'll come too, I think they'd want an explanation as to what you've been doing all this time," Love Heart added.

"But you can't! We were banished from the falls forever after Blue thought Fauna died," True Heart protested.

Fauna sighed "Oh Blue ...I was afraid of this. What if they take seeing me badly?"

Swift Heart patted her arm "Are you kidding? They are going to hold onto you tighter than I did."

"Well should we get going then?" Nova asked.

"Wait. Who and what are you?" Fauna turned, finally getting a good look at the pale-skinned silver-haired girl.

"My name's Nova. As to what I am, well..." she smiled, then a white glow emitted from her forehead which enveloped her body and an instant later she was standing there in her true unicorn form.

As everyone stood stunned Guidance Heart suddenly squealed, "A Unicorn!"

"Oh boy," Anger Heart dropped his head into his hand as the blue raccoon darted over to Nova and began hugging her leg and stroking her mane.

"Umm, there's a blue raccoon clinging to me. Should I be worried?" Nova asked everyone.

"She's just a big unicorn fanatic. Read a lot of fantasy novels as a kid and... this is kind of a big happiness overload for her," Anger Heart said, sighing.

"Her and every other seven year old girl in the world," Fauna muttered while trying not to laugh.

Guidance suddenly found herself held aloft by an invisible force as Nova pulled her away with her magic. "Alright, I get that you like unicorns but please just talk to me next time. Most of my kind would run if someone like you ran at them squealing."

"But you didn't run." Guidance Heart seemed to have regained her composure as Nova carefully set her down.

"I'm not like most unicorns. I'm a lot stronger for one thing," Nova replied.

"She's sort of moved to the falls because she doesn't want to be frail like most of her kind," Renegade explained.

"Aww man you miss everything when you are supposedly dead," Fauna quipped.

Love Heart had just finished whispering something to Calm Heart before turning back to the three immortals, "Well then we should probably get going. If Blue is doing as badly as you say, Renegade, then the sooner we go to see him the better."

"Well it's a rather long flight. The portal in the Forest of Feelings was sealed," Renegade said.

"No problem." Confidence Heart concentrated and conjured a cloud car from her tummy symbol before hopping into the driver's seat, "Let's get going then."

"Sealed!" Fauna exclaimed. "Seriously? My friends are so dramatic," gaining her true form she told Swift Heart and Grumpy, "I'll be back soon."

"You better be!" Swift Heart told her.

Love Heart jumped in the cloud car and Confidence drove off after Fauna as Renegade shifted to his natural form and Nova changed herself into a hawk and they flew off after them as well.

Fauna was fairly quiet as they flew to the portal. She was debating how to let her friends know she was okay. Blue would have to be done alone, without a doubt. She had missed him most of all and felt awful she had to lie to him.

Renegade flew up beside his sister. "Worried, sis?" he asked.

She nodded, "Blue is going to be so hurt. Maybe I should just stay 'dead'."

"That's the last thing you should do! Blue's barely functional even now and this will be a huge relief. If he's mad at all it will pass quickly because I'm sure that 'the woman I love is alive' will overwrite anything serious," Renegade reassured her.

"If he needs a rage outlet I'm sure he can use us," Love Heart called as they pulled up closer.

"You sure you want that?" Renegade asked.

"We can handle ourselves, don't worry!" Confidence called back.

"You magi aren't quite what I expected," Nova commented.

"We're just full of surprises," Confidence replied.

Laughing at Confidence Fauna said, "You're right Ren. I don't know why I'm so nervous."

"Good. The portal's just ahead. You'd better go first. I'm sure whoever's on guard duty will be stunned enough not to bother us once they see you," Renegade said as they approached the portal's location.

Reciting the words to open the portal Fauna flew threw. Pegasus Falls opened before her and she felt herself feel lighter. "I'm Home."

"Well welcome home Fauna," Renegade said as he landed next to her and Nova landed, changing back to her natural unicorn form. Love Heart and Confidence landed next, their cloud car dissipating as it touched down.

Looking back to see who was on Guard Duty she saw a very stunned Stormy and Silver Foot looking up at her. "F-fauna?" Stormy managed to stutter out. Whinnying she landed rubbed up against the two pegasus.

Silver Foot looked to Renegade, "What happened? How is she here? It is here right?"

"Yes it is here, grandsire, and as for how she's here…" Renegade moved aside allowing Silver Foot to see Love Heart and Confidence Heart, "They're the ones who saved her life."

"Oh my. This is an interesting turn of events." The alpha commented upon seeing the Magi.

Stormy snorted, sending little sparks of her lightning like magic out of her nostrils. "Did they keep you from coming home baby girl? You can tell me."

Burrowing her head into Stormy's shoulder Fauna replied, "No Stormy, they're the reason I'm alive."

"My apologize Magi," Stormy offered Love Heart and Confidence.

Confidence waved it off, "No problem, we weren't expecting anyone to be happy with us anyway."

"Apology accepted," Love Heart added, elbowing Confidence slightly, who just rolled her eyes.

"Well that's one hurdle over." Renegade sighed in relief, "I guess we should head to the royal caves now. I can fill you in on everything that's been going on here for the last few months, sis."

Stormy gasped, "Oh my poor boy! Fauna you have no idea how much you mean to him. It's been breaking my heart seeing him suffer like this." Stormy licked her, making her smile. "Of course I've missed you too."

"I've missed you too." Giving her grandsire a lick as well she moved next to Renegade. "Alright, give me the scoop."

"We'll wait here, better not to stir up the hive," Love Heart offered as Renegade and Fauna took off.

"So, you're interested in becoming stronger?" Confidence turned to Nova, regarding her curiously.

"Yes, why?" Nova asked.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Renegade and Fauna spread their wings and began flying towards the royal caves and Renegade began talking. "Well other than my shaman training, there's a stable portal between Pegasus Falls and the Unicorn's Grove. Nova created it by accident and White Fang and Aurora stabilized it, once Blue gave them permission. Frosty's about the same as ever but Thunder's but a bit lonely, no one to share his nesting grounds with. Red Snout's another matter... He joined that gang of reptiles and was pulling some rather dangerous pranks until recently."

Her eyes flashed gold, "Oh really? Well we'll see about that. I can't believe all that happened just because I was dead. Didn't anyone try to keep him from going? Or think to keep Thunder company?" As she said it she seemed to realize something. "Wait. Ren, they are all still friends right?"

"Thunder, Frosty and Blue definitely. Red... well he's still their friend but I'm not sure if he's slipping away from them anymore or not," Renegade said. "Dagger managed to get some sense into Red after one of his pranks injured one of her friends." As he spoke they landed at the entrance to the royal caves.

"Ren this is gonna take me awhile. You may want to find somewhere else to wait." Hesitantly he nodded, "If you're sure. I'll go check and see how Nova and the Magi are doing." She smiled appreciatively at her brother before heading down the tunnel.

Hearing footsteps echoing in the tunnel Blue sighed "Who is it now? I told the Council I'd have an answer for them tomorrow." Moving from his bed chamber to the entrance hall he saw his dead girlfriend coming up the tunnel.

She drew a sharp breath when she saw him, eyes sparkling and lips parting in a smile. "Hey Blue. Miss me?"

Of all the reactions she thought he would have, the one she got was not one of them. Blue merely gave a heavy sigh, wings sagging making him look utterly defeated, "Of course I do. So much now it seems I'm starting to hallucinate." Turning he began to walk away from her. "How long am I going to be tormented?"

Fauna hurried in front of him "Blue you are not hallucinating. I'm really here." To prove her point she put her hands on his cheeks.

"This was always my favourite part of this dream. Feeling you again. But soon enough you'll fade away, just like all the times before."

"Babe no. Listen to me. I'm really here. I survived the castle falling but I was messed up, big time messed up. The Magi took me away to fix me and -"

Blue shook his head "No way. You would have found a way to tell me you were alive." Again he tried to move away from her.

Clearly Blue had thought about this before. He probably had imagined a dozen scenarios where she had returned to him and she was certain more than a few where he imagined just what her last moments had been like. So to break through this trance, she would have to act in a way he hadn't imagined. "Well then tell me how I could have possibly done that when you closed the only portal I ever use!"

That made him stop and she continued while she had his attention, "And what is this shit I hear about you banishing the Care Bears? Dramatic much Blue?"

He turned around so he was facing her. "What did you say?"

He was coming out of the fog, she could see it! "You heard me. The Care Bears were not to blame for what happened to me. You know full well I made my own decision, just like I always do! So cut this miserable 'woe is me' crap out and reopen the portal! Because until you do I will not be staying here! And then you will have lost me twice in one lifetime."

She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Your move Kingsire. "

Later Fauna wouldn't be able to recall how it had happened. One moment she was standing there yelling at her boyfriend, and then in the span of time it took a hummingbird to beat its wings she was crushed against his now human chest.

"Don't you ever leave me again I won't survive." Just that one sentence before his lips were on hers and he was kissing her so intently she was having trouble breathing. Fauna's eyes fluttered closed as Blue's mouth moved against hers, making her spine tingle and arms feel like jello. It hurt where his fingers were digging into her back but she made no mention of it. She was only focused on kissing Blue back and burning away any last shadows of doubt he may have had.

When Renegade returned to the portal he found Nova in her human form deep in conversation with Confidence Heart while Love Heart was standing aside and listening.

"So how'd it go?" Love Heart asked as Renegade landed.

"I don't know. Fauna told me to leave her to see Blue alone. It should be going good, I think," Renegade replied, looking over his shoulder as if expecting to see Fauna flying behind him.

Stormy smiled, "Honey it's going to start any number of ways. But I am willing to bet it'll end only one, and that is something no one should intrude on."

"Wait, I thought pegasus had to be mated... never mind don't tell me either way," Renegade shook his head to dislodge any improper thoughts before turning to Nova. "So Nova, what are you doing with Confidence?"

"She offered to teach me martial arts, to help me get stronger," Nova replied.

"Yeah well I thought she'd be interested. It's a great way to condition your body and build stamina and she's eager," Confidence Heart said.

"That's interesting though Fauna might be able to help you with some stuff too." Renegade smiled.

Silver Foot snorted, "That you can be certain of too laddy."

"And for the record Renegade White Wolf, there are more ways for two beings to say I love you then there are stars in the sky and as his mother I do not imagine my son doing such things as you were implying. Got it?" Small lightning sparks came out of her nostrils once again.

Renegade stepped back, "Umm right got it."

"Real smooth Ren." Nova rolled her eyes, "So how long should we wait here? I know the rest of your little wolf pack will want to hear the news."

"You could gather them together for Fauna. She would appreciate it I'm sure," Silver Foot offered.

"Alright, just give me a minute to locate them," Nova changed back to her natural form and closed her eyes, using her horn to search out and locate them. A minute later she opened her eyes, "Red Snout is near Thunder and he's in his nesting grounds. Frosty's in the arctic region. I can go find Thunder, Renegade you should probably go get Frosty." Before any protests could be made, Nova had changed into a hawk and flew off.

"She still thinks Frosty's kinda weird, even though she knows why. Guess I'll go find him," Renegade said, flying off towards the arctic region.

"So what should we do? Head to the royal caves?" Confidence asked, turning to Silver Foot and Stormy.

"It couldn't hurt. Especially if there are questions that need answering," Stormy said.

Silver Foot agreed, "Plus it'll take ya a wee bit to get there if you walk."

"Who said anything about walking," Confidence's tummy symbol glowed and she conjured a cloud car, "We'll drive," she grinned at them.

Love Heart chuckled as he got into the passenger's seat and Confidence once again took the wheel. "Just point us in the right direction and tell us what to look for," Love Heart said.

Silver Foot pointed with his wings. "It's the tallest peak of the mountain range that isn't pitch black. The royal cave is about halfway up the slope. You should see two guards outside."

"Thanks!" Confidence called as she and Love Heart took off and headed for the caves.

Nova landed in the middle of the grey wolf's nesting grounds, changing back to her natural form as she landed. "Thunder? You around here?" she called.

He came trotting up along with Red Snout. "What's up Nova?"

"Blue wants you to come to the royals caves, he's got a surprise for you," Nova explained

"A Surprise? From Blue?" Red Snout drawled, clearly not believing such a thing could occur.

Thunder ignored him and smiled at Nova, "Thank you for the message, Nova, we'll go over there."

"Great. See ya there," Nova changed back into a hawk and took off.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Renegade landed in the arctic region and surveyed the area, "Now where would Frosty be at this time of day? Guess I should search for any shade first."

Frosty was in fact in his guardian form, romping with his herd mates. They were jumping in and out of Snow banks, occasionally pushing each other in as well. Emerging from one Frosty had a pile of snow on his head and his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. Yipping he went after Alpine. Renegade came across the white wolves playing together and was able to pick out Frosty among them. He laughed as he watched the wolves chasing each other.

Hearing the laughter the group stopped and looked for the source. Seeing Renegade they howled and ran at him, attempting to jump on him.

Renegade barely had time to jump up and flap his wings, but it proved to be useless as two of the wolves jumped up and knocked him to the ground, forcing Renegade to shift to his own white wolf form. "Alright, I yield!" he cried out.

"Wise choice." Frosty informed him. Backing off Renegade he sat and looked up at him. "It's about time you got back here and took a break from whatever you'd been doing."

"Not quite yet." Renegade got back to his paws, "Blue wants to meet us at the royal caves."

"He does? Well then what are we waiting for?" Gaining his true form he took to the air as Renegade followed suit.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Love Heart and Confidence Heart were the first to arrive at the royal caves. "Same as it was before," Love Heart commented as he and Confidence hopped out of the cloud car.

Seeing them the guards moved forwards to meet them. "You are not permitted to be here. So you will have to either go to the nearest portal and leave willingly or under escort." Kingblade told them.

"We came here with Fauna and we're not leaving until her reunion with Blue is finished," Confidence countered.

Toadstool shook his head, "Under the law none of your kind are allowed to be in the Falls. Even though Fauna has returned, our King has not repealed the law."

"If I recall, Blue's decision was because of Fauna's death," Renegade said as he landed with Frosty, relieved that he had arrived before Red Snout. "Now that she has returned you might want to wait to see how his opinion might be changed."

"Regardless, we have a message we want to give Blue so we'll wait until he and Fauna are done getting reacquainted," Love Heart added, not budging from his spot.

Frosty blanched, eyes widening. "Until Blue and who do what?" He wasn't looking away from Love Heart. "What did you say!"

"Smooth move." Confidence gave Love Heart a smack, "You ruined the surprise."

"OW! What Renegade said it too!" Love Heart retorted.

"This isn't the time to fight," Renegade cut in. "Frosty, well you'll see in a few minutes, hopefully not too long," he added as he saw Nova, coming in for a landing in a hawk's form with Thunder and Red Snout not too far behind her.

Red Snout turned into his wolf from just as soon as he touched ground and with a growl he leapt onto Love Heart, tackling him to the ground. Baring his teeth he snarled, "I warned your kind what would happen if I saw you again."

"Red Snout wait!" Frosty called trying to stop his friend's jaws as they went for Love Heart's throat but it was Confidence Heart who entered up holding Red Snout back, grabbing his jaw and holding it back was standing over Love Heart.

"If you hurt him I swear it will be the last thing that you do!" The fennec snarled at Red Snout, holding him back despite her awkward position.

He fought however, trying to get his teeth around her somehow. Frosty used his magic to pull his friend away from the Magi. "Dude listen to me! They said Fauna is inside with Blue."

"More of their lies! They are poison Frosty, you know that!" Red Snout snarled.

Thunder however was sniffing the ledge and tunnel. Stopping he looked over at Frosty in shock, "No Snout, he can't be. I smell her, and it's fresh." Keeping his magical grip on Red Snout, Frosty dragged him down the tunnel as he followed Thunder.

"So that was part of your magic then?" Nova asked Confidence as they followed after Red, Frosty and Thunder.

"No, that was all me. Pure martial arts." Confidence smiled at the unicorn, who had reassumed her true form during the near scuffle.

"Whoa," Nova sounded awed by the fennec's display.

Love Heart smiled as he put an arm around his girlfriend, "Yeah, she's pretty incredible."

"And that's pure skill and strength, no elementalism or magic whatsoever," Confidence added rotating her shoulder to give emphasis to the statement.

Thunder was the first to see Fauna, still "saying hello" to Blue. Shouting her name Thunder ran to her. After jumping from initial shock and separating from Blue, Fauna threw her arms around Thunder's big neck. She was glad for that because Frosty came crashing into her back, nuzzling and licking her all over. Sandwiched between the two she couldn't help but laugh as they asked her a thousand questions.

Blue saw Red Snout still in the doorway looking shell shocked. Going to him Blue said, "I know it's a lot to take in. I'm still adjusting to it all. But for the time being, just focus on the fact that she's alive."

Thunder and Frosty had moved back to let Fauna catch her breath. She didn't get much air before wolf Red Snout knocked her to her back. "Ow!" Tail wagging, Red Snout washed her face as Fauna hugged him.

"I missed you too." Now it was all too much. Hiding her face in his dense russet fur she allowed a few tears out. Thunder and Frosty rested their noses against her. Blue too knelt down next to Fauna and Red to join in on the reunion.

"Ahh happy reunions," Nova smiled as she trotted into the royal caves, "So this is what the Pegasus Kingsire and Queendame's home looks like." She took note of the television set and couch, "didn't expect to see human technology anywhere here."

"That's Fauna's doing. Since she grew up in Care-a-Lot she got used to having more modern things in her life." Renegade told Nova.

Fauna and her friends were finally starting to calm down, but remained sitting close together. She was scratching behind Red Snout's ear, making him pant happily. "Yeah I couldn't stand missing the latest movies just because I was here now."

"You mean those moving and talking picture things?" Nova asked.

"That's a pretty apt description," Confidence Heart laughed.

"Mmmhmmm" Fauna agreed. Blue's arm was around her now.

Looking at the Magi he said. "I don't fully understand everything that's happened, but I know I owe you thanks for bringing her back to us."

"You're welcome," Love Heart nodded in thanks to the Kingsire.

"So should we give you all some more time to get reacquainted?" Confidence Heart asked.

"Yes." The Group looked to Red Snout. "What? Blue's had the most time with her. We just got here."

"I hate to say it but he has a point," Frosty agreed.

"And on that note, why are you hanging around here. Fauna didn't need you to escort her home," Red Snout added.

"Partly to clear things up but mostly to extend an invitation to Blue an all of Fauna's closest friends," Love Heart said.

"Invitation to what?" Nova asked.

"The Elements' final concert," Confidence Heart cut in.

"What are the elements?" Nova asked.

"Our band," Love Heart explained. "We're doing one last concert before we move on to other things and we wanted to invite all of Fauna's friends since she's going to be performing with us. She has been for the last couple months."

"You've been doing what?" Thunder asked her for clarification.

Looking sheepish she said, "I've been singing with them under the name of Aura." The boys exchanged a look, no longer looking as jovial as they had a moment ago.

"So you were feeling good enough to parade around on an earth stage, but not to come home."

"No Red Snout that's not it." Fauna assured him.

"Well then you need to explain some things babe, because that is what it sounds like," Blue told her.

"I did come back, as soon as I could. I passed through Care-a-Lot on the way and saw things were all messed up there."

"That was my fault," Renegade spoke up, averting his eyes from the others. "I was arguing with Red Snout and I accidentally released a burst of magical energy that changed the nature of the Care Bear Family's reality."

Red Snout made a barking noise that sounded like a laugh, "Good to know all that creepy magic did some good. But how I still don't understand what that has to so with us."

Fauna scowled at him, "Well I tried to come here next but the portal was closed. So I panicked, thinking something had happened here. I couldn't bear to see what had happened so I went back to the Magi."

"Don't try to blame us for that," Confidence Heart added, starting to flare up in anticipation of an attack.

"Cassy." Love Heart spoke in a calm voice and put a hand on Confidence's shoulder and she calmed down.

"I've actually spent the last couple months trying to reverse the changes I created. I just fixed them today," Renegade said.

Blue kissed her cheek, "Whatever your reasons were I no longer care. I am just so glad that you are home and alive."

"We were falling apart without you Fauna." Thunder admitted.

She kissed them all briefly, "I am so sorry. I did what I did to keep you safe. The last thing I wanted was to cause you pain. But you guys really should come to the concert." Looking at Thunder Frosty and Red Snout she added excitedly, "Maybe we can find a temporary spell to turn you guys human for a day!"

"No need to find one I can do it," Nova volunteered.

"Whoa, hold on! Who said I wanted to be human for a day! Or go this concert thing." Red Snout questioned.

"Because, I missed you, you missed me, and you would do anything to make me happy right now," Fauna told him while smiling brightly.

Red Snout caved instantly. "Fine. I'll give it a try." Blue, Thunder, and Frosty all chuckled.

"It would be best if we waited until we were back in the human world before we did that, it's a long flight back to the Kingdom of Caring," Love Heart suggested.

Now Blue joined Red Snout in looking displeased, "Why do we need to go there?"

"Well that's where everyone else has gathered. But if you're so insistent then Fauna knows where it is and we'll see you there," Love Heart said before he and Confidence turned and began walking down the exit to the royal caves.

Fauna called after them, "We'll see you guys down there. I owe my boys some one on one time in a big way." The inner circle seemed thrilled by this.

"Guess I'll get out of your hair then," Nova said, turning to follow after Love Heart and Confidence.

"I can clear out too if you want," Renegade added.

"Would you mind Ren? You and I can have our time tomorrow," she asked him.

"I don't mind. Now I have some time I can spend with Nova." Renegade smiled and trotted after the unicorn.

Looking up at her friends and seeing them all smiling back at her she gave a happy sigh, "Alright guys, brace yourselves. Let me start of my twisted story by saying how excruciatingly painful it is when your body divides into multiple, unwanted, shifts…"

"So what should we do then?" Nova asked as they exited the tunnel.

"Probably check in with White Fang and Aurora, just to let them know what we'll be doing tonight," Renegade replied. He turned to Toadstool and Kingblade, "did the two Care Bears pass by here?" he asked the guards.

Kingblade nodded, "Not sure where they were heading but they seemed to be leaving." He indicated the direction they had taken.

"Probably back the way we came to tell the others what's going on tonight," Nova said before she changed herself into a hawk. "Let's go tell our teachers what's going on." Renegade nodded before they took off, heading for the arctic region.

White Fang was in his work room, casting some spell over what looked to be dried herbs. As he chanted they began to come alive again, slowly losing their shriveled look and returning to a healthy waxy green.

Aurora was seated nearby, working on a compound of plants she was grinding together when she heard the knock at the entrance to the igloo. "Sounds like our young protégés have returned," she commented, release her magical hold on the bowl she was using.

Twitching his ear towards the door White Fang called, "I've told you a thousand times Renegade, mishpucha doesn't knock!"

"That was me knocking," Nova answered as she pushed into the igloo followed by Renegade.

"We won't be long," Renegade reassured them as he came fully into the igloo.

"So how was Care-a-Lot? Everyone okay? No weird side effects aside from a few hurt feelings and egos I assume." He asked his apprentice.

"Well one of them tried to commit suicide because he died in the other reality but other than that everything was alright. Great in fact because Fauna's alive. The magi saved her after that fight at No-Heart's castle and she's been with them ever since," Renegade was smiling as he spoke.

"How wonderful, Renegade. I look forwards to meeting your sister," Aurora smiled and nuzzled the young Pegasus.

Yelping White Fang threw his wings in the air, "She's alive? Did you tell Blue? You have to tell Blue! He will absolutely plotz! And then this whole gornisht depression will be over!"

"Been there done that," Nova replied laughing.

"They're all getting reacquainted," Renegade added.

"Oy praise the deities! I was worried!" White Fang sighed in relief, "Well I am very glad to hear that. And I know you must be too." He told Renegade.

"Happiest day since your mating ceremony," Renegade replied, still smiling.

White Fang waved his wing at Renegade, "You are such a softy. It wasn't anything special."

"Oh he was just happy for us Fang," Aurora nuzzled her mate fondly.

"And the magi invited us to go to their last concert tonight," Nova cut in.

"A music concert?" Aurora asked.

"Yep," Nova nodded.

"I went to a concert once. It was that kid Orpheus. He knew his way around a lyre." White Fang remembered fondly.

"Not quite the same thing," Renegade laughed a bit. "I like their music though."

"You went to them before?" Nova asked, turning to look at Renegade.

"Before we knew they were care bears. They take on human forms when they perform and they were hunting the hunters. That's how we were brought into contact with them," Renegade explained.

"It does sound interesting but I doubt it would be in our taste." Aurora said.

White Fang nodded in agreement with his mate, "These human youngins today listen to nothing but this 'rock and roll' nonsense I believe. The sound is so loud it could wake the titans under the mountain."

"It's not quite rock, more pop and other languages," Renegade said.

"Well you two have fun then. Tell us what it was like when you get back," Aurora said.

"We will," Nova got up and headed out the igloo followed by Renegade.

"Sounds like they're going to have a fun date," Aurora noted.

"If they can even hear each other that is." White Fang told her. Thinking of something he asked, "Aurora, would you like a date night?"

"I would, Fang. What did you have in mind?" Aurora asked.

Nothing extravagant. Maybe just a nice graze somewhere, just us two and a moonlight wade in the lake?" Seeing his astrological calendar behind her he changed his answer, "Or we could watch the Pisces meteor shower in the desert region! It's happening tonight just before sunrise!"

"Sounds perfect, Fang. It's a date." She nuzzled White Fang and gave him a kiss.

"Aurora you make my ticker feel so warm and light. Your smile is pure joy, so bright. I can't wait for our date tonight." He sprouted sillily while wiggling his eyebrows.

"Flatterer. I love you," Aurora giggled and smiled.

Licking her he said, "I need to get this spell done for Ferra. She's been worried about her trees."

"Alright." Aurora nodded then turned back to her own work

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Love Heart and Confidence Heart returned to the Kingdome of Caring And found the mood just as light and happy as they had left it.

"Looks like Calm Heart spread my message about the concert," Love Heart said as they landed and got out of the cloud car.

Cheer was talking with Love-a-Lot and Share nearby. "I can't believe it! We are going to their farewell concert!"

She squealed in joy making Share laugh, "But Cheer, you will be seeing them all the time soon."

"Yeah but not singing!" She countered.

"Should be great too. Since it's all on the house," Love-a-Lot said.

"Hey Love Heart, Confidence, how did it go?" Anger Heart called as the two approached the group.

"They're all happy that Fauna's back and they're all going to be at the concert," Confidence Heart replied.

"Really? All of them?" Share asked just to be sure. "But how are the ones who can't be human going to go? Don't you think they may raise a few questions?"

"That unicorn, Nova, is going to turn them all human for the night," Love Heart explained.

"And the portal?" Guidance Heart asked.

"It didn't come up, it's probably going to stay sealed." Confidence Heart sighed.

"Well that's just perfect!" Anger Heart growled and folded his arms.

"Anger Heart!" Calm Heart spoke up, trying to stop him.

"No, I'm sick of keeping quiet about this! We saved his whole species and even his girlfriend's life and all we've gotten from that whole race is banishment, anger and scorn. Why should we have gone out of our way to help them when they never even fucking appreciate it!" Anger Heart shouted.

The fox was about to continue before Guidance Heart shot a rope of light around his mouth and pulled him away to have a private conversation with him away from the others.

Love-a-Lot shook her head, "Poor Anger Heart. He doesn't understand how true love works. I can totally see why Blue did the things he did. Loosing someone so suddenly, when you thought you would be spending the rest of your life with them...I hear it's like having a chunk of your soul torn out."

"It's not that. He's mad that despite everything we've done to help the Pegasus all we've received from them is punishment," Love Heart said. "We saved their whole race from the hunters and Fauna's life and Blue lashed out at us, banishing us from his presence when we did nothing but try to help."

"He's not wrong either," Confidence Heart added. "I understand that Blue was devastated but we did nothing to hurt him or his people so his reaction was too over the top."

"Anger Heart said he'd drop it if the portal was unblocked but I'm guessing that's not happening." Love Heart sighed.

"Well Grams did stop him from finishing off No-Heart but yeah, it was more about Fauna's supposed death," Defiant Heart cut in, "and don't let Anger get to you, he's always going on about stuff like this."

Swift heart had been walking by the group and overheard the discussion. And the more she overheard the more her temper began to rise. "Are you guys kidding me?" She asked aloud to get their attention.

Defiant Heart stepped back from the group, unwilling to even try and face Swift Heart.

Confidence Heart sighed, "What's your problem Swift Heart?"

Swift Heart got right in Confidence's face, glaring up at her, "Allow me to explain things to you since you are all having this little high and mighty tantrum. Blue was just reunited with his girlfriend who he thought was dead. Do you really think that he would interrupt his reunion with her for even a second to open a silly portal? Hell no! Shame on you Confidence for getting Anger all riled up over something you don't even know for sure. In fact, for a group that seems to view themselves as the saviors of the Pegasus race, you really know absolutely nothing about them. Blue was dying without her. I know I wasn't there but it's how I felt too! And I loved her just as much as he did so I know what he was going through! So as far as his 'over the top reaction', you seem to think he had, Confidence, I will explain just why he reacted the way he did.

"When you all came to No Hearts castle, it was to 'deal with Fauna.' Your words exactly. The last group you dealt with was the Hunters, and you did that by wiping out their entire organization! When we woke up at the castle, you all were gone and all that was left was a huge pile of rubble! No Fauna. What the hell was Blue supposed to think? Yes we thought the castle had crushed her, but you all made no move to help us save her.We spent most of our time distracting you so Blue and Renegade could talk to Fauna. In his mind, she was dead and the ones who were going to kill her anyway were long gone! Please tell me how he should have reacted?"

Turning to Love Heart she continued, "As for you. Haven't you ever lost someone you love? If I recall you have. Your father right? To the Hunters I believe, which was why you all wanted to seek revenge on them. Don't you remember how that felt? Feeling that hatred towards the ones you blamed for his death." She paused briefly to tap her chin, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but when you found them again, you didn't forgive them and offer to atone for all the lives you'd taken already. You wiped out their entire organization. You didn't kill them to save the Pegasus, it just worked out that way and Blue thanked you for that didn't he? He even let you speak with his deities, which is a huge honor by the way. But you're right I can totally see how it can be easily seen as ungrateful. Oh, and for the record, he banished all of us. Not just you Magi so fucking get over it.

"Now, let's fast forward to you saving Fauna. In your great haste to take her away, how long would it have taken to leave a simple message? 'We have Fauna. She's broken but we can fix her.' That right there would have solved all the confusion and saved Blue's sanity."

Addressing the entire group once more she saw a rage of looks being thrown at her. She didn't care. She was going to let them know exactly how she felt, "I get that you all seem to think you have done all these great things for the Pegasus. And you have. But you also don't realize that there are wounds that stretch back to before you ever came into the picture and those cannot be healed by one good deed. We are so grateful that you brought Fauna back to us, but the fact that you expect thanks instantaneously makes it seem like you didn't do it because it was the right thing to do. It seems like you just want to be the heroes. And that is why I am currently yelling at you selfish, arrogant, demanding crybabies!" Her tummy symbol had begun to flicker at the end of her speech due to her heightened emotions.

Silence hung in the air for a good five minutes before someone spoke. Unsurprisingly it was Calm Heart, whose face had been growing more downcast as Swift Heart's rant had gone on.

"You're right."

Swift Heart looked surprised by the reaction. She looked to Love Heart and Confidence to see if they felt the same way. "Really?"

Love Heart, Confidence, Indy, Guidance and even Anger Heart looked up to Calm Heart Lynx, their anger dissipating as she spoke: "You're right, Swift Heart. We've been guided by our vengeance quest for so long that we never realized what we had become. We felt entitled to things because we thought we were on a just crusade but in reality we were just fooling ourselves. We've been so short-sighted for so long, never thinking much beyond the next action we take or how things will go, flying from one moment to the next, barely planning our steps and when things calmed down we knew no other way to act.

"Koran's death left us half grown up, able to take actions but unable to see the far reaching consequences of those actions and we never stopped to even try and think what we were doing." Calm Heart raised her hands and stared at in horror, her palms open and her fingers trembling.

Confidence's face had become one of sorrow as she mimicked the lynx's motion. "There's so much blood on our hands, so much we can never forget. Who knows if we might have stopped."

"And we took two of your own away and corrupted them to our way of thinking, made them killers just like us." Love Heart looked sadly at Anger Heart and Guidance Heart. Anger was looking away from anyone's gaze and Guidance was just standing there, unable to reply.

After another minute of silence, Love Heart turned first to Calm Heart, then Indy, then finally to Confidence at his side before turning and starting to walk away. "We should go. Goodbye," he said. Calm Heart and Confidence joined him.

Anger and Guidance began to follow, until Anger Heart stopped and held Guidance back. "No, you should stay."

"But Anger Heart," Guidance was cut off as the fox put a hand softly to her mouth.

"You didn't kill anyone, you were just there to scout and heal us. You're hands are clean enough for this place." Anger Heart planted a kiss on her forehead, "You're better than us, goodbye." Anger Heart turned and jogged to catch up with the other retreating magi, leaving Guidance to fall to her knees and watch them go.

During all of this, Indy just stood by watching and listening, his face as impenetrable as stone.

Swift Heart looked at the Cheer, Love-a-Lot, and Share before running after the Magi. "Hang on guys! Where are you going?" Indy suddenly appeared at her side and grabbed her shoulder, stopping her from catching up with them. He was still silent but his grip ensured that Swift Heart couldn't break free.

"Let me go! They don't have to leave Indy!" She tried to wiggle free but had no success.

Indy seemed not to have heard her at first until he spoke. "I've never seen them as broken as this since Koran died."

"Their dad? Why because I lost my temper on them? They were saying things about Blue too you know. Indy they don't have to go! Let me stop them."

"I doubt you could Swift Heart." Despite his words Indy released his grip on the rabbit's shoulder. "I've participated in their actions for years because they were my family but I was the only one who ever had a lot of time to think over my actions. I drove us a lot so I had a lot of time when it was just me and the road and I kept thinking about everything, everything we had done and what we were doing. More importantly I had to think about where we were going when and if our crusade ever ended. I had enough introspection time to examine my actions and my life and I made peace with it. Not them though, they've been focusing on their present so much that they never had any time for introspection and now they've all been shocked to awareness, suddenly woken up from a dream they didn't know they were having and finally seeing the whole truth of their world for the first time in years."

Her ears wilted slightly, "I didn't mean for all that to happen. I've just been so out of sorts lately what with Fauna dying and then undying and the whole reality shift thing." She looked after the retreating forms, "Do you think I can talk them around at the concert tonight? I want them to know that grey area is okay, not everything is black and white."

Indy shook his head, "Even if you could it might be months, maybe years, before anyone can convince them that their actions weren't inherently evil. I can see a person's spiritual temper if I look at them hard enough and with them all I see is despair." Indy looked over his shoulder, and noticed that the whole Care Bear Family had approached them during his talk with Swift Heart; they all listened in. Indy stepped away before addressing everyone with his back still turned, "I know they will refuse to cancel the concert but I doubt it will be what you expect and I seriously doubt we will see you again in current circumstances." He turned to the family and bowed, "For what it's worth: it's been an honor and a privilege to know you all. Farewell." Indy turned and began following after his companions.

True Heart stepped forward, "Swift Heart? What exactly happened just now?"

Wringing her fingers she faced True Heart, "I sort of lost my temper on the Magi, and I think they are leaving for good."

"We all heard it, True Heart, well most of us," Defiant Heart had managed to walk up next to Swift Heart. "We defended their actions to the Great Wishing Star once, even stood up for their war against the hunters."

"It's like I told Indy, grey area is okay. They are trying to figure themselves out and what better way to do that than by being here with us." Swift Heart added.

Guidance Heart got up from where she had been kneeling and began walking to Swift Heart, slowly and without words.

"That does sound valid, Swift Heart, but unfortunately this place will likely only be a reminder of their own actions, as we and the Pegasus are the ones who were most affected by their actions," Take Care said.

"Well then I just give up! It sucks that they feel so defeated but I had to say it!" Throwing up her arms she turned to walk away and saw Fauna coming in for a landing.

"Why does everyone look like you are attending my funeral all over again? Hey where'd the Magi go? Our show starts in a few hours."

"It's not going to be with us, Fauna," Guidance had approached Swift Heart and put her hands on her shoulders. Her voice contained no malice, just a flat tone that hinted at sadness and disappointment. "Tell her what just happened, Swift Heart."

"So the Magi were saying how unappreciative Blue and the other pegasus were for all they had done and how they thought he had been over reacting. So I read them the riot act, the hard spikey one that let them know exactly why they were wrong, and it sort of made them realize I was right. And they woke up and are sort of lost now I guess?" She looked to Guidance for conformation.

"She pointed out every flaw she saw in them and forced them to realize just how much of their lives they'd been denying, focusing on their vengeance quest against the hunters and not looking forwards. They finally starting thinking about all the people they'd killed and how entitled they were acting and how they changed Anger Heart. They left in depression, except for Indy," Guidance grabbed and shook Swift Heart once, "Did you even think about how much they were holding in when you pointed that out to them!?" she asked.

"Hey easy!" Valiant pulled Guidance Heart away from Swift Heart.

"Why are you still here then?" Fauna asked raising an eyebrow at Guidance.

Valiant Heart release his hold on Guidance before she spoke, "Because despite all I was involved in I never killed any of the hunters and I did a lot of healing, but I guess you'd know that Fauna."

Fauna nodded, "Yeah I do and I told you guys thanks a hundred times over." Groaning she looked skyward, "Seriously though? My first day back and this is what you throw at me?" Rubbing her fore head she thought things over for a second. "If I talk to them, maybe I can mediate the situation." She put a hand on Guidance's shoulder, "Swift Heart gets protective. And she really doesn't know much about the Magi, so she wouldn't know how her words would affect them."

"I noticed," Guidance Heart replied, "but from the way they left I doubt we'll get a chance." Guidance sighed, "This will be the first time in ages that I'll watch one of The Element's concerts from the crowd."

"Wait why are you going to be watching?" Fauna asked her.

"They left me here and went to get the concert ready. Anger Heart even told me to just stay here since I could probably live here without guilt, and if what I think is right then I don't want to try and force my way into the concert," Guidance said.

"We might as well go and enjoy what we get though," Valiant Heart said. "Where's Renegade and your other friends? Did they decide not to go?"

Fauna was scowling, "Nova is turning them into humans so they could see me perform one time before the Elementals disbanded." Snorting she stomped her foot, "And I don't care what they say I will be performing. Load up guys, we are moving out!"


	15. Return Arc, Part 2

Chapter 15

SThe art center where The Elements' final concert was being held was as packed as the group expected it to be; the ticket takers recognized the group in question and just directed them to go to the large grouping of seats that had been reserved for them.

"Well at least we're getting the VIP treatment right?" Playful Heart said, trying to lighten the still dour mood that pervaded the Care Bear Family.

Funshine attempted to assist, "So do we think it would be a bad idea for me to ask for an autograph?"

"Probably won't be worse than having to spend the night in this human form," Red Snout grumbled, tripping over his feet forcing Nova to catch him.

"Easy there, Red. You're going to be sitting most of the night anyway," Nova said.

Blue was chuckling behind him as he helped Frosty and Thunder into their seats. "Not so easy is it." Thunder had dull black hair and was around 6 ft tall his skin was lighter then Blue's and Fauna's but not totally albino, like Frosty who had retained his snow white hair and pink eyes, which were currently behind dark lensed sunglasses; his skin was so pale it was almost translucent. Red Snout's cheeks and nose were splattered with freckles and his flame red locks had a gentle curl to them. He was the shortest of the three at 5 10".

Looking around the theater, Thunder mused, "I don't think I've ever seen so many humans in one place."

"They do this all the time to watch people perform, sports, music, you name it," Guidance said as she sat down. "I tried to get to the back but security said no one could go back there and I couldn't risk transforming to human form to get past them," Guidance whispered to Fauna.

Fauna nodded looking sour. "Yeah the goons wouldn't let me back stage either. This is so lame!" She whispered back.

Blue gripped her hand. "Everything okay?"

Fauna forced a smile, "Yeah. We are just trying something new for this concert, since it is such a big deal and all. Right Guidance?"

Guidance was about to speak when the dimming lights and the pre-show applause signaled the start of the concert. As the curtain rose Love Heart, in his human form Blitz, stepped forwards from Indy, as Spirit, Calm Heart, as Gaia, Anger Heart, and Blaze, and Confidence, as Breeze, before he raised a microphone to his mouth.

"Who are they?" Frosty asked.

"The Magi's human forms," Renegade replied.

"Hey everyone, are you happy to see us tonight?" he asked the crowd. His voice lacked any enthusiasm but despite this most of the crowd shouted encouragingly, even most of the Care Bear Family.

Blitz noticed the Care Bear Family but didn't look at them as he spoke again, "I'm sorry to say that this will be our last concert. We want to move on to other things and… think about what we've been doing with our lives." When there was nothing but a couple shouts from the crowd, Blitz continued. "Sadly, recent events have forced us to reconsider much of our actions. You'll notice that Shine and Aura are no longer without band and that Spirit has returned." Spirit waved from his spot at the drum set before Blitz continued, "Our concert will be much shorter tonight as we don't have much real motivation to do more." Blitz took a few steps back and counted off to the rest of the band, disappointed and confused murmurs were heard in the crowd.

"Shorter, how much shorter?" Harmony asked aloud as the music for the song began and Blitz began singing.

("Fight Together" cover by MidiGuyDP, original singer Namie Amuro)

_Let us set sail right before the break of dawn  
Tommorow's waiting for all of us and I have  
No regrets, yes now I've made up my mind_

Blaze and Spirit chimed in  
_(Oh I know what I'm supposed to do)  
_  
_No matter how hard it gets along the way  
My heart will always be strong from day to the next day  
There is one place that we all want to go  
(Fly to the Light)  
_  
_There is no way that they will ever break though  
As we fight more together, we'll know what to do  
As we go on our bonds will grow ever more  
Yes the power is here, right in our hands_

So it's time to go  
Ahead is a New World that's calling for us  
So look far ahead now  
No matter just how many big blue seas are between us

No Matter What, I'll stand by You  
Don't be Afraid, We'll make it Through  
Never forget that  
We Fight Together

I've always kept that memory, of when I raised my head high  
Oh there is no way I'll forget that vast blue sky  
Oh we sure have really come a long way  
With our bonds we made we'll carry through each day  
But even though we  
All have burdens we carry

The sun will rise  
And shine it's way to us, and make it alright  
Yes I believe it  
The future tells me we will be one piece it's in my sight

So now together, let's set sail  
Yes with just us, we will prevail  
Never forget that  
We Fight Together

As the applause rose Blitz stepped forwards again and spoke, "Thank you everyone for your years of support. Goodnight and goodbye," Blitz bowed and Breeze blew a kiss to the audience before the curtains closed.

The applause died down, replaced by disappointing murmurs and every cries for "encore" but they went unheeded. Despite the situation no one moved to try and leave just yet.

"That was it? Just one song for this many humans? What a letdown," Thunder said.

"What exactly did you say to them, Swift Heart?" Fauna asked, turning to the rabbit.

As Swift Heart did her best to give the details of her speech, Guidance felt a slight wind and a piece of paper hit her cheek. "What?" she took it off and began unfolding it, "Must be from Confidence," she said as she opened the paper and read the short letter contained therein.

_Guidance. Thanks for journeying with us and we'll miss you. We know the Care Bear Family, Fauna and the other pegasus probably hate us so we're just going to leave and find some place where we can be alone and try to have some semblance of a normal life._

_Gooboia_

The last word was distorted by tears.

Fauna turned from Swift Heart and saw the note, snatching it out of Guidance's hands and reading it. "Hate them? Why would they think I hate them?"

"It's a common symptom of depression." Take Care was kneeling on his seat and looking at Swift Heart, Guidance Heart and Fauna behind him, "When depression sets in all memories of recent and not-so-recent events that caused some form of physical or emotional pain are amplified many times over and most happy thoughts fade from the forefront of their minds so anything that was said…" Take Care focused on Swift Heart… "or done recently that hurt them will be the only things on their minds."

"What could have hurt them in Pegasus Falls?" Fauna asked. Thunder, Frosty, Renegade and Nova all turned to stare at Red, who was seated with his arms crossed.

"What!? So I attacked the green one because he was supposed to be banished at the time. You can't possibly think this is my fault!"

"Depression is severe and any negative actions are amplified in their perception. I wouldn't be surprised if one or more of them are crying right now," Take Care said before turning to look at Defiant seated next to him. The badger was slumped farther down in his seat than was comfortable to do so and just staring forwards with a far-away look in his eye.

Fauna glowered at him, "It's not your fault but I'm sure that didn't help." Her look shifted to Blue. "And you banishing them definitely didn't."

The King crossed his arms, "I stand by my actions. I lost you and it was the only logical course." Red Snout nodded.

Smiling Fauna reached over as if to hug both of them, "Awww you guys..." instead however, her fingers pinched their earlobes and she yanked, making them yelp. "Alright, here is how this is going to work. You two and Swift Heart are going back stage to apologize to them. If only for making it feel like you were ungrateful for them saving me." She gave Red Snout's ear an extra yank on this part. "Guidance and I will do what we can to save this concert. Got it?" Her eyes flashed letting them know she was serious.

"Alright, alright! Just let go!" Red Snout yelled at her.

"Seriously Fauna, this hurts!" Blue agreed. She released them and looked to Swift Heart. She seemed to be thinking it over.

"You should go back there and apologize, Swift Heart. If not for what you said then apologize for making the same mistake they made: not thinking ahead and just acting on raw emotions, if you want them to see a grey area then let them see that you can make the same mistakes they do, even if in a different way," Take Care encouraged the rabbit.

"Yeah that makes sense. Alright boys follow me." Getting to her feet she led Blue and Red Snout out of the aisle.

Fauna turned to Guidance, "I'm going to sing my song. I think it will help light a fire under their butts and keep the crowd entertained."

"Give me a minute to transform then," Guidance said, getting up, "I'll help you too. I just hope it works."

Nodding Fauna too snapped her fingers, altering her appearance ever so slightly to better embody hey alter ego Aura. Thunder's eyes widened, "Fauna if Blue saw you in that outfit you'd have to scrape his tongue off the floor."

Grinning she looked over her tight jeans and midriff exposing shirt decorated in rhinestones and metal studs. "He'll get his chance. You ready Guidance?"

"Just a moment," A bright flash and Guidance disappeared. "I can't change if I'm visible so I just made myself invisible. I'll see you on stage." A moment later all the other people who were either getting up or sitting down lane of Guidance were heard making exclamations of discomfort as the invisible raccoon pushed past them.

Fauna used her magic once more to conjure herself a mic. Standing on her seat she spoke into it, "Now come on guys. Do you really think Shine and myself would miss the farewell concert? Heck no!" The spotlight came to shine on Aura and the crowd erupted into applause and cheers. Grinning at them and waving she said, "Now how's about ya'll help me to the stage and I'll treat you to a song." Sticking her arms out she winked at Thunder and Frosty before falling back into the crowd. A moment later she was crowd surfing towards the stage.

A moment later there was a flash of light from the stage and Guidance, in her human form "Shine" was on stage and she moved to take up a guitar as Fauna arrived.

"Nice one," she complimented Fauna.

"Well we all know subtly isn't my thing," she replied with a smile. Taking center stage she said, "Alright guys. This one is one of my favorites." The spotlight on her turned a soft shade of blue as Guidance began the opening bars.

(Dare you to Move, originally sung by Meagan Hilty)

"_Welcome to the planet, Welcome to existence. Everyone's here, everyone's here Everybody's watching you now Everybody waits for you now"_

Indy was standing near the door to the prep room when he spotted Blue, Swift Heart and another person he didn't recognize approaching. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing as they came closer.

"Are the rest of the Magi in there? We'd like to talk to them," Swift Heart told Indy. Fauna's voice had just reached them back stage and both Blue and Red Snout turned to face the direction it was coming.

"Awww man I'm missing Fauna sing," Blue muttered.

Swift Heart snapped her fingers, "Then let's do this quickly."

"They're in there, still in human form," the white bear said. "You can talk to them if you want but choose your words carefully. They're going to soak up any negativity like a sponge."

"Why are you so stable then?" Red Snout asked.

"I dealt with my personal demons a long time ago. I can help you guys but I don't waste words," Indy replied, pushing the door open.

The other four magi were still in their human forms: Blaze was seated on a stool facing a wall, Breeze was sitting on a loveseat next to Blitz and it was apparent that she'd been crying. Blitz was rubbing Breeze's back silently and Gaia was just staring at herself in the dressing mirror.

_"What happens next, What happens next."_

At a loss for words, the two pegasus looked to Swift Heart to help them out. She looked smug, "Care Bears aren't so useless afterall." Turning to the Magi she smiled at them, "So that concert was much shorter than we thought it would be. And it sounds like Fauna didn't agree when you said she wasn't performing." She indicated the singing coming through the door.

"That's her singing?" Blaze looked over from his spot against the wall.

"Sounds like Guidance is playing guitar," Calm Heart commented from her spot, looking at their reflections in the mirror.

"Yup she wasn't giving up without a fight. And neither are we. We owe you guys an apology." Swift Heart told them.

_"I dare you to move. Dare you to move. Dare you to lift yourself up Off the floor. Dare you to move. Dare you to move Like today never happened. Today never happened before"_

Aura's voice rose to a louder volume as she belted the notes, her spotlight too blazed in white now. Her voice gave Blue the strength he needed to admit he may have been wrong. "Yes, if for any reason you felt I wasn't grateful for what you've done for my subjects and me I am sorry."

"We kinda blew that one," Blitz said, "We heard your thanks and didn't bother telling anyone."

"Wait, he actually thanked us?" Blaze turned around on his stool.

Blue nodded, "You brought the love of my life back to me. Why wouldn't I be thankful and you kept her safe during the whole Hunter thing."

"Hmm," Breeze looked up, drying her eyes but making no other noise.

Sparing a glance at the off stage area in the wings, Fauna sang on:

"_Welcome to the fallout Welcome to resistance Tension is here, tension is here Between who you are and who you could be Between how it is and how it should be."_

Blue sighed, "I was hurt. Very deeply. And you shouldn't have taken any of my actions as personal attacks on you. It just seemed the only way I could deal with loosing Fauna was by pushing everything that reminded me of her away."

"I know what that's like," Blitz spoke up. "I had a picture of all of us with Koran once, but I threw it away after he died. I wish I hadn't."

"You mean this picture?" Breeze finally spoke, pulling a wrinkled picture from her pocket. "I saw you toss it away and I decided to keep it until you decided you were ready to see it again."

"I can't..." Blitz started tearing up as he un-crumpled the picture.

Swift Heart spoke up now, "You need to. You need to learn to live with the loss in your life. And the more you get used to it, the less of a burden it is."

"Who are you?" Blaze asked, turning to look at who he still didn't recognize as Red Snout.

The red head sighed, "I'm the one who attacked whichever one of you was at the Falls earlier today. But you all know me as Red Snout."

"That would have been me," Blitz said, carefully folding the picture and putting it in his pocket.

"Yeah well sorry about that," Red Snout muttered.

"Hmm," Blitz continued to look at Red Snout until Blue elbowed him and gave him a glare.

Red Snout sighed, "Fine. I'm sorry I attacked you, it was wrong of me." His voice was laced thick with sarcasm but The Elements didn't pick up on it.

"Thanks," Blitz finally managed a smiled.

_"Maybe redemption has fallen to the floor, Maybe forgiveness is right where you stand, Where can you run to escape from yourself, Where you're gonna go? Where you're gonna go? Salvation is here."_

"And I was wrong for freaking out on you guys like that. It was super hypocritical of me. It was just poor timing." Swift Heart said. "But see? We all make mistakes. You guys don't have to condemn yourselves to a life of solitude because of it."

"It takes a while to get over any huge part of your lives but if you just let it eat away at you then you'll go nowhere. Fauna and Guidance, or rather Aura and Shine are there singing and playing their hearts out. Even if it's hard we can get help up in the Kingdom of Caring." Everyone turned to watch as Indy approached and changed back into Spirit. "I don't think we should join this song at the moment but we can at least finish the sets we planned for the night and give everyone a farewell they deserve instead of that weak send-off we just did."

Swift Heart grinned and clapped him on his shoulder, "That's the spirit."

Blue nodded, "We all came to see you guys perform."

"We might as well give it a try," Gaia said as she stood up.

"At least listen to Fauna's song," Spirit said, before move past them back to the stage. Red Snout went after him followed by Blue.

"Well I gotta hear Guidance play," Blaze said, following after them. Finally Blitz, Breeze and Gaia moved to join them.

As Guidance played the final chords Fauna saw the Elements and Blue, Red Snout, and Swift Heart appear in the wings. Swifty Gave her a thumbs up and Fauna's smile light up as bright as the stage lights. Putting all her newfound joy into the finale she threw her arm in the air:

"_I dare you to move Dare you to move Dare you to lift yourself up Off the floor I dare you to move Dare you to move Like today never happened today never happened, today never happened today never happened, Today never happened before."_

As her song ended, the crowd applauded. Four distinct voices made human sounding wolf whistles. "I love you Aura!" Some fan called from behind Thunder.

He spun around and snarled at him, "You dare say such things to the Kingsire's intended mate!"

Grumpy got a grip on him, "Easy Thunder, it's just an expression! People say things like that all the time to rock stars." The fan decided to ignore Thunder and continued to try and get Aura's attention.

Frosty chuckled, "Blue doesn't seem too worried." He pointed to their friend in the wings. He was beaming at Fauna as she bowed.

"It seems they were able to give them a kick out of their depression for the moment," Take Care noted, also seeing Defiant was sitting upright again.

The rest of The Elements came on to the stage and the applause seemed to double in volume. Bltiz moved to Fauna and took her microphone once he was sure she was alright with it.

"Thanks Aura, let's hear it for Aura again everyone!" Blitz's request was met by another wave of applause.

"I'm sorry about our little burn out earlier but we had some issues to resolve thanks to some close friends," Blitz smirked and there was a sudden flash as a spotlight turned and illuminated Swift Heart, Red Snout and Blue, but mainly focusing on Swift Heart.

Swift Heart held her hand up to shield her eyes from the light. Red Snout tried to move out of it but Blue stopped him. "Well we couldn't let you go out like that could we?" Swift Heart called to him.

"Yes the Care Bear Family are good friend of ours, in fact they're all here to see our concert. I won't light them up for you but I'm sure you can pick them out easily. We owe a lot to them especially tonight so we're going to give it our best before we disappear!" Blitz's announcement was met by more applause as Spirit stepped forwards, fitting a headset to his head as the next song began and he began to sing.

(We Go, originally composed by Hiroshi Kitadani)

"_Jitto dekinai tomarenai __  
__Yoake ga osokute JIREttai __  
__Ichi, ni, Sunshine yon...WE GO!_

_Hata o ageyou Break of Romance Dawn __  
__Nmikaze tateyou SURIIPU kara no JUMP START! __  
__Arienai sekai o yuku nara __  
__Kimi no TAFUNESU sore ga hitsuyou_

_Medachisugi sore tte tsumi? __  
__Shimei tehai → tsumari __Winner _

_Jiyuu dake ga oretachi no RUURU __  
__Shinpai nante doko fuku kaze_

_Zettai ONE PIECE ichiban-nori __  
__Yumemiru kokoro wa chou DEKAI __  
__Samenai koto ga daiji __  
__Jitto dekinai tomarenai __  
__Yoake ga osokute JIREttai __  
__Ichi, ni, Sunshine yon...WE GO!_

_Koe o ageyou Gate of The New world __  
__Misetsukete yarou RUUKII kara no SUPER STAR __  
__Yotei chouwa sonna no iya nara __  
__Zutto IMAGINE sore ga kanjin_

_KYOURETSU ni HANMAA ga Hit! __  
__BANE no genri ↑ takaku tobe __  
__Hiza no kizu wa itsuka wa naoru sa __  
__Michi naru TAIFUUN tanoshimou ze_

_Zenshin aru no mi sore ga chikai __  
__Yume ga hajimatta ano hi kara __  
__Mezasu mirai wa onaji __  
__Jitto dekinai tomarenai __  
__KOKORO no taiyou shizumanai __  
__Ichi, ni, Sunshine yon...WE GO!_

_Oretachi wa...koko made kita ze __  
__Oretachi wa yuku...yume no arika e __  
__Dare mo oite'kanai ze_

_Zettai ONE PIECE ichiban-nori __  
__Yumemiru kokoro wa chou DEKAI __  
__Samenai koto ga daiji __  
__Jitto dekinai tomarenai __  
__Yoake ga osokute JIREttai __  
__Ichi, ni, Sunshine _

_Ichi, ni, Sunshine __  
__Ichi, ni, Sunshine yon...WE GO! __  
__WE GO!"_

As Spirit finished the fans applauded. Harmony cheered loudly, "I am so glad they decided to keep singing. Whatever vibes those guys were giving out, they worked." She said to Brave Heart.

He nodded, "They are surprisingly good. I will admit."

Returning to their seats, Swift Heart gave True Heart and Noble the rundown of what had gone on, while Thunder informed Blue of the loud man behind him. Fauna had briefly stepped off stage to get some water.

"It seems like everything went alright," Noble Heart sighed in relief.

Blitz was about to speak again when Blaze stopped him and held a quick whispered conversation. Blitz nodded and let Blaze step forwards and start speaking into the microphone.

"Good evening everyone. Are you enjoying the concert more now?" he asked the audience.

Once more cheers went up: "We love you Elements!" "We want another song! Wooooo!"

"Well we've got plenty more. And I've got a special song for my girlfriend, Shine," Blaze turned to the girl, who blushed. "Thanks for helping pull us out of that funk." Blaze turned back to the audience and began to sing, with Blaze and Spirit providing back up.

(Love Like Woe, originally by The Ready Set)

"_J-j-j-j R_

whoa oh oh oh oh  
whoa oh oh oh oh  
I kinda feel like it dont make  
like-like-like it dont make  
feel like it dont make sense

I'm thinking, baby, you and I are undeniable  
But I'm finding out loves unreliable  
I'm giving all I got just to make you stay  
Or am I just a roadblock in your way?

Cause you're a pretty little windstorm out on the boulevard  
Something like a Sunset, oh you're a shooting star  
And I might drive myself insane  
If those lips aren't speakin my name

Cause I got some intuition,  
or maybe Im superstitious  
But I think you're a pretty sweet pill  
that Im swallowing down  
To counter this addiction  
you've got me on a mission  
Tell me darling, can I get a break somehow?  
Could I say no?  


_She's got a love like woe  
(whoaa oh oh oh)  
Girls got a love like woe  
(whoaa oh oh oh)  
I kinda feel like it dont make sense  
Because you're bringing me in  
and now you're kicking me out again  
Loved so strong, then you moved on  
Now I'm hung up in suspense,  
Because you're bringing me in  
And then you're kicking me out again_

It's like a hurricane, speed train, she's a moving car  
Catch her in the fast lane, oh I gotta know,  
Can I keep up with her pace?  
Kick it into gear when I see that face

You can take up all my time cause you're the only one  
That can make a storm cloud break  
Pulling up the sun  
And I can't get caught in the rain  
Can I get your lips to speak my name?

Cause I got some intuition,  
or maybe I'm superstitious  
But I think you're a pretty sweet pill  
that I'm swallowing down  
To counter this addiction  
you've got me on a mission  
Tell me darling, can I get a break somehow?  
Could I say no?

She's got a love like woe  
(whoaa oh oh oh)  
Girls got a love like woe  
(whoaa oh oh oh)  
I kinda feel like it don't make sense  
Because you're bringing me in  
and now you're kicking me out again  
Loved so strong, then you moved on  
Now I'm hung up in suspense,  
Because you're bringing me in  
And then you're kicking me out again

Cause we only have one life  
The timing and the moment,  
All seem so right  
So would you say you're mine?  
(We'll be just fine)  
Would you say you're mine?  
(We'll be just fine)

She's got a love like woe  
(whoaa oh oh oh)  
Girls got a love like woe  
(whoaa oh oh oh)

I kinda feel like it don't make sense  
Because you're bringing me in  
and now you're kicking me out again  
Loved so strong, then you moved on  
Now I'm hung up in suspense,  
Because you're bringing me in  
And then you're kicking me out again

_I kinda feel like it don't make sense  
Because you're bringing me in  
and now you're kicking me out again  
Loved so strong, then you moved on  
Now I'm hung up in suspense,  
Because you're bringing me in  
And then you're kicking me out again"_

Even as the applause roared up again Spirit moved to start the next song by beating on his drum set followed by the electric guitar music from Blitz.

(One Day Fandub by - MidiGuyDP  
Original Song by - The Rootless  
Fandub Lyrics by - Shift (Batwing321))

"_Every time the rain no longer falls and I see the sky,  
I think back to when I was a child who could only cry,  
Blindly chasing after him, I fell far behind,  
My only thought,  
'One day I will be stronger,'_

Camaraderie and gratitude,  
Fading with the wind,  
Am I stronger now than I was before,  
Or as weak as back then?  
I don't know for sure, but until I do,  
My voyage will not end,  
No matter what's next,  
I'm walking straight ahead,

So, let's go!  
There's nothing that can stop us now,  
Though time's not on our side,  
We'll never let it pull us down, and  
We may fall,  
But we'll always keep on standing,  
There's no way anything will take what I hold dear away from me,

The voices inside me,  
Push me to keep surviving,  
I'll go on, I'll get through,  
No matter what I gotta do  
The fiercest storms of all can pour upon me, I don't care,  
Why in the world would I turn back?  
Oooh!

So, let's go!  
There's nothing that can stop us now,  
Though time's not on our side,  
We'll never let it pull us down, and  
We may fall,  
But we'll always keep on standing,  
There's no way anything will take what I hold dear away from me,  
I know the future's there for me to see.."

Feeling someone drop into the seat next to him Blue jumped. Fauna giggled and kissed his cheek. "Relax babe. I'm off for the next few songs so I came to join you guys."

Smiling he gripped her hand, "I'm not complaining."

"Well I love the concert so far," Nova spoke up.

"That's good. I was worried you wouldn't like this kind of music." Renegade sighed in relief.

"All I've known is the 'music of nature'. Gets pretty dull after first few hundred times," Nova replied before turning to look at the other pegasus. "What do you think?" she asked Frosty, Red Snout and Thunder.

"I like how lively it is!" Thunder shouted back. "The lights remind me of night tag." Fauna seemed to like that analogy.

Frosty answered next, "I can see why you like human form. I like these!" He wiggled his fingers in Red Snout's face.

The red head smacked his friend's hands away while smiling. "I am glad to see Fauna can actually sing instead of wailing along to her music at home."

"Wailing?" Renegade asked, turning to his sister.

She rolled her eyes, "I sing loud if I really love a song and it echoes. Plus you know I have a thing for sad songs."

On stage, after a short conversation between the band, Gaia stepped forwards with a guitar, tapping her microphone before speaking. "Our next song is rather personal for a couple friends of ours. They'll know who they are so please listen and imagine how they've been feeling for the last several weeks." Calm Heart began to play and then began to sing in a softer voice than the audience would have expected.

(How Do I Live, originally by Leanna Rimes)

"_How do I,  
Get through the night without you?  
If I had to live without you,  
What kind of life would that be?  
Oh, I  
I need you in my arms, need you to hold,  
You're my world, my heart, my soul,  
If you ever leave,  
Baby you would take away everything good in my life,_

And tell me now  
How do I live without you?  
I want to know,  
How do I breathe without you?  
If you ever go,  
How do I ever, ever survive?  
How do I, how do I, oh how do I live?

Without you,  
There'd be no sun in my sky,  
There would be no love in my life,  
There'd be no world left for me.  
And i,  
Baby I don't know what I would do,  
I'd be lost if I lost you,  
If you ever leave,  
Baby you would take away everything real in my life,"

Blue's arm came around Fauna's shoulders, pulling her close. Fauna happily rested her head under his chin. She gripped his shirt front as his lips gently kissed her forehead.

"_And tell me now,  
How do I live without you?  
I want to know,  
How do I breathe without you?  
If you ever go,  
How do I ever, ever survive?  
How do i, how do i, oh how do I live?"_

"I didn't. When you died I died." He murmured to Fauna.

Tilting her face up she kissed his chin. "I would too. If I ever lost you, I wouldn't survive."

"_Please tell me baby,  
How do I go on?_

If you ever leave,  
Baby you would take away everything,  
I need you with me,  
Baby don't you know that you're everything,  
Real in my life?"

Feeling Blue take a shuddering breath Fauna pulled back to look at him. He turned away, trying to hide the fact he was crying. Reaching over she gently wiped his tears away. "Oh Blue. It's OK. You aren't losing me."

He held her hand against his cheek. "I just keep reliving that moment over and over."

"And I will hate myself a little every day for causing you that pain," She told him while resting her forehead against his.

"_And tell me now,  
How do I live without you,  
I want to know,  
How do I breathe without you?  
If you ever go,  
How do I ever, ever survive?  
How do i, how do i, oh how do I live?_

How do I live without you?

How do I live without you baby?"

Gaia's song finally finished, leaving a milder applause from the audience. Somehow the song had caused a wave of sadness to sweep through the crowd.

As the song ended Blue and Fauna exchanged a gentle kiss. "I love you Blue."

"I love you Fauna." A few tears of her own ran down her cheeks as she kissed him again.

"Aww," Love-a-Lot cooed as she watched the display.

Red Snout sighed, "They really are perfect together."

Frosty nodded. "Yea dude they are, but you'll find your perfect too."

On stage, Blitz had moved to take a position to sing and Gaia had dropped her guitar as the next song began with Blitz singing.

(Beautiful Soul. Originally by Jesse McCartney)

"_I don't want another pretty face  
I don't want just anyone to hold  
I don't want my love to go to waste  
I want you and your beautiful soul  
You're the one I wanna chase  
You're the one I wanna hold  
I won't let another minute go to waste  
I want you and your beautiful soul_

I know that you are something special  
To you I'd be always faithful  
I want to be what you always needed  
Then I hope you'll see the heart in me

_I don't want another pretty face  
I don't want just anyone to hold  
I don't want my love to go to waste  
I want you and your beautiful soul  
You're the one I wanna chase  
You're the one I wanna hold  
I won't let another minute go to waste  
I want you and your beautiful soul_

Your beautiful soul, yeah  
You might need time to think it over  
But I'm just fine moving forward  
I'll ease your mind  
If you give me the chance  
I will never make you cry c`mon let's try"

Red Snout knew this one, it was one of Fauna's favourites. However he had never listened to the words before. After his recent revelation he felt like the universe was taunting him with this song choice.

"Seriously? Come on now. I admitted they were good together. Why this?" Red Snout asked under his breath.

"Did you say something Snout?" Fauna asked, turning to him.

"Nope Fauna. Nothing."

(Body Language originally by Jesse McCartney)

When Beautiful Soul ended Blaze began to sing the next song. _"Ooo that bodies like music to my ears. Ooo that bodies like music to my ears."_

Whipping around on her seat Swift Heart gaped at Fauna, "Shut up! How did you get them to do this one?"

"Anger lost a bet to me." Darting from her seat she arrived on stage in time for the first verse.

_"Oh she's, oh she's so international. The way, the way she get it on the floor. I'm tryin, I'm trying to holler at you. I want to get to know you better. Parlez vous Francais? Konochiwa come an move in my way. Hey little chica from guadalupe, that thing you got behind you is amazing."_

Aura danced along to the song earning all sorts of noises from the audience. Blue looked surprised.

"Did you know she could dance like that?" Thunder asked. Blue shook his head at Thunder making Swift Heart laugh.

"_Now, I don't speak Spanish, Japanese or French  
But the way that body's talkin' definitely makes sense  
It's her, her body, her body, her body language  
It's her, her body, her body, her body language  
The way she moves around  
When she grinds to the beat  
Breaking it down articulately  
It's her, her body, her body, her body language  
It's her, her body, her body, her body_

That make me want to say hey...('ey!)  
Hey...('ey!)  
Hey...('ey!)  
It's her, her body, her body, her body language  
C'mon

Shorty, let me whisper in your ear  
Tell you everything you wanna hear  
You got my vote: Hottest Girl of the Year  
Let's have a celebration, baby

Parlez vous francais?  
Konichiwa  
Come and move in my way  
Hey, little chica from Guadeloupe  
That thing you got behind you is amazing

Now, I don't speak Spanish, Japanese or French  
But the way that body's talkin' definitely makes sense  
It's her, her body, her body, her body language  
It's her, her body, her body, her body language  
The way she moves around  
When she grinds to the beat  
Breaking it down articulately  
It's her, her body, her body, her body language  
It's her, her body, her body, her body

That make me want to say hey...('ey!)  
Hey...('ey!)  
Hey...('ey!)  
It's her, her body, her body, her body language  
C'mon

I'm lifting up my voice to say  
You're the hottest girl in the world today  
The way you shake  
You got me losing my mind  
You're banging like a speakerbox  
Turn around; the party stops  
Universal lady, let me take you away

Now, I don't speak Spanish, Japanese or French  
But the way that body's talkin' definitely makes sense now  
It's her, her body, her body, her body language  
It's her, her body, her body, her body language  
It's the way she moves around  
When she grinds to the beat  
Breaking it down articulately  
It's her, her body, her body, her body language  
It's her, her body, her body, her body

You make me want to say hey...('ey!)  
Hey...('ey!)  
Hey...('ey!)  
It's her, her body, body, body language  
C'mon

Ooo, that body's like music to my ear  
Ooo, that body's like music to my ear  
Ooo, that body's like music to my ear  
'Cause what you want is right here"

"There, satisfied?" Blaze said to Aura, once Blitz took the center stage again.

Smiling Aura playfully kissed his cheek. "Yes thank you." Swiping his mic she spoke to the crowd "Alright everyone! On your feet! This not a song you sit idly by on. It's time to show me just how young you are." The music started and she began stomping her foot to the beat.

(Like We're Gonna Die Young, originally by Kesha)

"_I hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums  
Oh what a shame that you came here with someone  
So while you're here in my arms  
Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young_

We're gonna die young  
We're gonna die young

Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young

Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young

Young hearts, out our minds  
Runnin like we outta time  
Wild childs, lookin' good  
Livin hard just like we should  
Don't care who's watching when we tearing it up (You Know)  
That magic that we got nobody can touch (For sure)

Looking for some trouble tonight  
Take my hand, I'll show you the wild, side  
Like it's the last night of our lives  
We'll keep dancing till we die

I hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums  
Oh what a shame that you came here with someone  
So while you're here in my arms,  
Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young

We're gonna die young  
We're gonna die young

Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young

Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young

Young hunks, taking shots  
Stripping down to dirty socks  
Music up, gettin' hot  
Kiss me, give me all you've got  
It's pretty obvious that you've got a crush (you know)  
That magic in your pants, it's making me blush (for sure)

Looking for some trouble tonight  
Take my hand I'll show you the wild side  
Like it's the last night of our lives  
We'll keep dancing till we die

I hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums  
Oh what a shame that you came here with someone  
So while you're here in my arms,  
Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young  


On the last chorus, Aura paused and addressed the crowd. "Alright everyone! let me hear it!" She held the mic out to the crowd as they sang along.

_I hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums  
Oh what a shame that you came here with someone  
So while you're here in my arms_

_Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young_

We're gonna die young  
We're gonna die young  


On the last line she joined them. Looking to where the Care Bear Family was seated she sang out, "_Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young_!" Shooting her fist in the air she signaled a shower of sparks to go off behind her.

__Even Blitz was applauding as he stood next to Aura on stage. "Another round of applause for Aura everyone!" he called. The audience roared obligingly.

A minute passed before the crowd died down and Shine stepped up next to Blitz as he began to speak again. "You've been a great audience tonight but I'd like to end with one of my favorites. I won't say the name of the song but I'm sure a lot of you know it. Take it away, Shine," he passed the microphone to Shine, who took a deep breath as she took center stage.

The so far unused big screen behind The Elements suddenly flared to life, showing a first person view flying through a narrow tunnel made of pipes. The screen faded to a picture of a chocolate cake with a single candle in an otherwise dark room. A robotic claw descended over it then opened and pinched the candle out.

"Oooh, I know this one," Gentle Heart commented to Bright Heart.

"So do I," the racoon laughed. As several other similar exchanges took place in the audience.

A moment later Breeze, who had taken over on drums, tapped the cymbals four times and Shine began singing as Blitz played a simple melody on his guitar as the words to the song appeared on the big screen.

"_This was a triumph!  
I'm making a note here:_

_HUGE SUCCESS!_

It's hard to overstate my satisfaction.

Aperture Science.  
We do what we must because we can.

A number of audience members began to sing along with the lyrics, including Bright Heart.

"What's this song from?" Brave Heart asked, Gentle Heart.

"A video game. Bright Heart can show you some time," Gentle replied before joining her boyfriend in song.__

For the good of all of us.  
Except the ones who are dead.

But there's no sense crying over every mistake.  
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.  
And the science gets done.  
And you make a neat gun  
For the people who are still alive."

"Com'on you all know the words!" Blitz called and the rest of the audience began clapping and singing along, even the Pegasus and members of the Care Bear family who were swept up along with the singing.__

"I'm not even angry...  
I'm being so sincere right now.  
Even though you broke my heart and killed me.

And tore me to pieces.  
And threw every piece into a fire.  
As they burned it hurt because  
I was so happy for you!

Now, these points of data make a beautiful line.  
And we're out of beta. We're releasing on time!  
So I'm glad I got burned!  
Think of all the things we learned!  
For the people who are still alive.

Go ahead and leave me...  
I think I'd prefer to stay inside...  
Maybe you'll find someone else to help you.

_Maybe Black Mesa?  
That was a joke."_

Shine held the microphone out to the audience who roared the next line: "_Ha Ha! Fat Chance!"_

"Anyway, this cake is great!  
It's so delicious and moist!

Look at me: still talking when there's science to do!  
When I look out there it makes me glad I'm not you.

I've experiments to run.  
There is research to be done.  
On the people who are  
still alive.  
And believe me I am  
still alive.  
I'm doing science and I'm  
still alive.  
I feel fantastic and I'm  
still alive.  
While you're dying I'll be  
still alive.  
And when you're dead I will be  
still alive.

Still alive.

Still alive…"

As the stage went dark and the screen shut off, the crowd began to chant. "Encore, encore, encore!" Even Blue and the inner circle were chanting.

"Can I get an encore? Do you one more! Cook and roll with the Brooklyn boys! So for one last time I need y'all to roar!" Etienne chanted earning a few surprised looks from his family. Grinning he told them, "Oui. I can rap. "

"What's this!?" Nova shouted over the roaring audience.

"An encore. Chant loud enough and they might do one more song!" Renegade replied.

"If you say so, ENCORE!" Nova yelled out.

Harmony smiled, "That a girl! Encore!"

"Well whaddya say, one more?" Blitz asked the rest of the group backstage.

"Why not," Spirit agreed.

The Elements suddenly came back onstage and somehow the applause got even louder as Blitz took center stage again.

"Alright you want it. I've got one more song that I think sums up how we all feel." Blitz signaled to Breeze who began playing a tune on the electric keyboard as Blitz began singing, with Spirit and Blaze backing him up.

(when can I see you again, originally by Owl City)

"_When can we do this again?  
__When can I see you again?  
__When can we do this again?  
__When can I see you again?  
__When can we do this again?  
__When can I see you again?  
__  
Switch on the sky and the stars glow for you  
Go see the world 'cause it's all so brand new  
Don't close your eyes 'cause your future's ready to shine  
It's just a matter of time, before we learn how to fly  
Welcome to the rhythm of the night  
There's something in the air you can't deny_

It's been fun but now I've got to go  
Life is way too short to take it slow  
But before I go and hit the road  
I gotta know, 'til then,  
when can we do this again?  
(Oh oh oh oh)  
When can I see you again?  
(Oh oh oh oh)  
When can we do this again?  
(Oh oh oh oh)  
I gotta know, when can I see you again?  
(When can I see you again?)

Joined at the hip, yeah your sidekick needs you  
Life is a trip down the road that leads you  
Look all around at all the mountains you haven't climbed  
It's just a matter of time, before we learn how to fly  
Welcome to the rhythm of the night  
There's something in the air you can't deny

It's been fun but now I've got to go  
Life is way too short to take it slow  
But before I go and hit the road  
I gotta know, 'til then,  
when can we do this again?  
(Oh oh oh oh)  
When can I see you again?  
(Oh oh oh oh)  
When can we do this again?  
(Oh oh oh oh)  
I gotta know,  
When can I see you again?

Don't close your eyes 'cause your future's ready to shine  
It's just a matter of time, before we learn how to fly  
Welcome to the rhythm of the night  
There's something in the air you can't deny  
So let me know before I wave goodbye

When can I see you again?  
(Oh oh oh oh)  
When can we do this again?  
(Oh oh oh oh)  
When can I see you again?  
(Oh oh oh oh)  
When can we do this again?  
(Oh oh oh oh)

Yeah, it's been fun but now I've got to go  
Life is way too short to take it slow  
But before I go and hit the road  
Tell me when  
When can I see you again?  
When can I see you again?  
(Tell me when)  
When can I see you again?"

"Alright you've been a great audience. Good night!" Blitz called one last time before they finally left the stage.

After the concert wrapped up Fauna's friends waited by the stage door. When she joined them, Thunder hugged her. "That was awesome! You were awesome!"

Fauna smiled, "Thanks Thunder! Did you guys like it?" They all immediately insisted they did and began naming their favorite moments.

"Alright, I get it. Hahaha." Checking her watch she saw it was only 10. "Well you guys have two hours of human form left. What should we do?"

The boys exchanged a look and Frosty spoke for them. "Go home and be with you. It's all any of us want."

Fauna was overcome with emotion yet again. "Alright. Let me say s quick good-bye and then we are so gone."

"I guess we'll join them in saying goodbye then," Love Heart replied. He and the rest of the magi, now in Care Bear forms, emerged from the stage doors.

"Aren't you worried about your fans seeing you like this?" Renegade asked.

"Nah, we set a decoy," Anger Heart said.

Seeing the Magi, Blue approached them. "For the record, and in case it was not clear before, I am officially lifting the ban of the Care Bears family in Pegasus Falls, you all are welcome there whenever you like."

"We'll take you up on that offer, when we're not busy," Guidance said.

"Busy with what?" Nova asked.

"School. Anger Heart is joining the school up there and... well I spoke to Take Care and Defiant will be unfit to teach for the foreseeable future so I'm taking over as the language teacher," Guidance Heart replied.

Anger Heart groaned, "Com'on, do I really have to do that?"

Red snout snickered from behind Blue. "Sucks to be you."

Fauna shoved him, "Hush." Turning to the Magi she said, "thank you all again for what you did for me."

"You're welcome. We should have told everyone you were alive once we finished getting you to our truck though," Love Heart sighed.

"We all thought it was best at the time. Next time we'll know better," Fauna assured them.

"I, for one, hope there never _is_ a next time," Renegade said.

"I guess I'll see you around then," Nova said, "but I'd better get back. This was a nice first trip to the human world," she added.

"If you intend on hanging out with me Nova, it won't be the last." Fauna said before going to hug Grumpy and Swift Heart goodbye.

"Good, then come back in a week and I can get you started on the martial arts training," Confidence said.

"Training?" Renegade asked.

"Yeah. Confidence said she'd teach me martial arts, to help me get stronger," Nova replied.

"So where are you guys going?" Grumpy asked, turning to the magi.

"We're going to live with you guys, of course," Indy said.

Treat Heart smiled, "Well then welcome!" Swift Heart and Cozy echoed her sentiment.

"It will be good. You'll see." Swift Heart reassured them.

"Yes. Though we do have issues we need to deal with," Calm Heart admitted.

"No better place than the Kingdom of Caring," Grumpy said.

"Well let's get going before the fans catch on to our ruse," Anger Heart checked the area as if expecting the ravenous hordes to descend upon them at any moment.

Noble Heart raised his fingers and whistled, "Alright everyone. Let's go home."

Fauna And Blue took off into the night with Frosty, Red Snout, and Thunder howling from their backs with Renegade and Nova following close behind as the Care Bear Family conjured a small fleet of cloud cars and took off for their own home.


	16. Return Arc, Part 3

Chapter 16

The day after the concert ended, the Care Bear Family was getting ready for their annual Christmas party. Volunteers were busy decorating the Hall of Hearts with festive lights, ornaments, and other such yule tide things. Outside of it, Cozy Heart and Snowy were working together to make snow drifts and turn the area around the Hall into Care-a-Lot's own winter wonderland. Cozy had even found time to stare up a few ice sculptures. Her favorite was of two Polar Bears touching noses. "Thisss party isss going to be great. We have a lot of thingsss to be celebrating."

"Definitely," Snowy nodded. "I love the sculptures you've done. But I think we need a skating rink." Snowy walked a short distance and used his stare to level a large area of snow into a giant puddle. Calling up his snowflake shaped quincy bow he began firing his freezing arrows at the puddle until it was frozen over. "There, good enough size don't you think?" he asked, the penguin.

She nodded, "Perfect. Good Idea Ssssnowy. I'm sssure we'll be able to get at leassst a few of our friendsss out on it."

"I can always make it bigger if we need to," Snowy said.

"Could you stand to make it any colder?" Cheer walked up bundled in winter gear and holding her arms, "How can you two stand this when you're dressed for summer?"

Cozy giggled, "What'ssss wrong misss figure sssskating world champ? Can you only be out in it when you're sssspinning in one of your sssparkly leotardsss?" She handed Cheer an extra pair of gloves so at least her hands would be warmer.

Cheer took the gloves and slipped them on.

"Well sorry we're built for cold weather." Snowy grinned, "You could do what Cozy suggested. I just made a skating rink."

Looking over at the ice Cheer smiled, "Awesome! I will definitely be taking advantage of that later. I was told to ask where Brave Heart and Anger can set up the fire pit. You know for those of us who WILL be getting cold later."

"Behind the hall." Snowy pointed, "I think, was that the right place, Cozy?"

She nodded, "Yeah. We aren't putting too many sssnowy decorationsss back there. But there will be plenty of chairsss."

"So go tell them where they can get it set up while we finish up here," Snowy said.

Nodding Cheer hurried off, eager to assist with the fire pit setup. Cozy shook her head still smiling, "I wasss very glad when another cold fan joined ussss. It wassss sssso hard to explain to the othersss."

"They just don't like it cause they have to wear a couple extra skins to stay warm." Snowy fell backwards and began waving his arms to make a snow angel, "They just can't appreciate how the snow feels."

Falling to her belly Cozy slid down the ice with a happy trill. "You got that right."

Behind the Hall of Hearts Cheer had managed to get Brave Heart, Anger and Champ to start setting up the fire pits.

"So what exactly are we setting these up for?" Anger Heart asked, digging out the pit.

"For people who cold but want to sit outside. It's going to be nice out sports fan, and not everyone will want to stay in and dance all night," Champ told him while piling up logs.

"Alright." Anger Heart stood up, "shouldn't that mole, Terra Heart, be helping with this part?"

"I am," Terra suddenly popped up next to Anger Heart, causing him to fall back in shock.

"Yeesh, what took ya?" he asked, standing up and dusting himself off.

"Slept in. So do we just need the one fire pit?" she asked, not bothering to turn her practically blind eyes in any particular direction.

Brave Heart nodded, "Yeah one should be enough. I am thinking most people will be coming in and out, not just hanging around in one place."

"Alright, just let me know when to stop digging it out." Terra filled in tunnel and began to dig out the pitiful pit that Anger had left.

"Sure, put me to shame," Anger muttered as he moved to gather up more wood.

"Well it is kind of her thing." Cheer reminded him. "I promise if it came down to who could lose their cool faster, you would totally blow her away."

"Gee thanks so much, Cheer," Anger Heart retorted.

She smiled, "You're welcome."

"Not really helping Cheer." Champ told her gently.

"Well fine, I'll just go inside and see if they need help setting up the dance floor." Turning with a huff she walked away.

Inside, Playful was setting up the ceiling decorations as usual, but this time he had grudgingly taken a safety harness tied to the ceiling with Funshine holding the other end.

Funshine shook her head at his pouty face. "Oh come on Playful. It isn't the end of the world. You have to admit, your track record hasn't been so good lately up there." She called to him.

"I fell one time!" Playful called as he tied several snowflakes to hooks on the ceiling.

"Looks good so far," Noble Heart called. "Keep it up."

"Thanks Noble. See Playful? You still got the skills. Stop behaving like Grumpy when he used to get his trucks taken away. I promise as soon as you're done the evil harness comes off and you can flip around to your heart's content." Funshine reassured the monkey.

"Great, then keep holding on. Here I go!" Playful took off to another part of the ceiling.

"Hey Cheer can you give us a hand over here?" Share called as the pink bear entered the Hall.

"Absolutley!" Shedding her jackets and outer layers she made her way to Share Bear. "What are you guys working on?"

"The decor for the dance area, Harmony and I are kinda at odds with this," Share said, turning to Harmony.

"What's the problem? Can't decide on which directions to use?" she asked her friends, looking at what they had with them.

"We're just not in sync and we were hopin' you could get us in tune," Harmony said, showing they layout on paper they had thus far.

Cheer looked over their plans. "I see what you were trying to do, but I think you two were too afraid of hurting the others feelings so you tried to use everything you all suggested. Like the confetti. It may make it too slippery so let's get rid of that." She drew a line threw it. "And the changing color lights are an awesome idea. But instead of having they strung overhead, why don't we wrap them around the giant snowflakes you have on the edges." She pointed out what she meant. Seeing another detail Cheer scowled, "I am sorry Share but the tacky reindeer have to go. And Harmony the same goes for your odd carolers."

"Aww," Harmony groaned.

"Better than not getting this done before the party," Share said.

"Other than that, I think it looks okay. Remember it's the dance floor. It needs to be as open as possible," she added.

"Well it looks great, good job Cheer," True Heart had come over to check their progress.

"Thanks True Heart, but I didn't do much. My girls here had it all figured out. I just helped with the editing." She put her arms through Harmony and Share's, squeezing them close.

"We try." Share smiled.

Smiling at them, True Heart moved on to check on the tree preparations. It was a rainbow of lights, all different colors glowing from the evergreen boughs; on its branches hung the family's many ornaments. It was tradition that every member had a special one they chose to represent themselves on the tree and they were the ones to hang it. She could see a few members were in the process of doing that. Grams was there unwrapping the star that would sit on the top. It was a gift from the Great Wishing Star and was made of actual starchips. It would only shine when placed on top of the tree.

"And up I go," Confidence Heart had fashioned an ornament that looked like her tummy symbol, a blue ribbon with a heart shaped button. She crouched and a small burst of wind accompanied her jump as she headed up and stuck her ornament on the tree before cushioning her own landing.

"You could try to be more creative you know," Love Heart suggested, hanging his own ornament, a heart with lightning and musical notes stuck to it, lower on the tree.

"Does it really matter," Confidence gave Love Heart a kiss.

On the other side of the tree, Treat Heart was hanging hers. It was one she had made herself, a small basket filled with little pieces of candy. She had spent forever painting the candy stripes when she was younger. "This is my favorite part of the holiday. Well aside from the cookies," she told Birthday Bear.

Birthday chuckled, "I know." He gave Treat Heart a kiss, "So should we get started on the baking soon?"

"Probably. Since we have so many new people, we need to make a few more batches then last year." Handing him his ornament she said, "So hang yours and let's go."

"Alright." Birthday smiled and hung his ornament, "Just don't start a fight with Illusion this time, please," he said as they headed for the kitchen.

Scoffing she crossed her arms, "I never start it. He is the one who always has to comment on how I decorate things, or prepare the dough." Birthday sighed as they entered the kitchen, silently praying that there wouldn't be an incident.

Illusion hadn't arrived yet so they had the kitchen to themselves. Treat Heart began pulling ingredients and setting them up in stations. "I don't think we'll make the caramel bars again. They didn't go over so big last year. But that means we can make more of the frosted trees!" She said excitedly.

"Perfect, I'll get the dough ready," Birthday said, grabbing a mixing bowl and starting to measure flour into it.

By the time they had the oven heating and the first round of cookies mixed, Illusion arrived. "Bonjour mon amis. Sorry I late. I couldn' fin de stuff I need fo' ma cinnamon logs."

"Well there's plenty of space," Birthday said, having stirred up the cookie dough already.

"Merci." Putting his stuff down next to Treat Heart he tied on his apron, "Smells good petite." Treat heart almost dropped her spoon out of surprised.

"Thanks Etienne."

Chuckling the gator started mixing his recipe. Birthday sighed in relief. Hopefully there wouldn't be any fights today.

"Chere, why you usin dat color icin'?" Illusion was referring to the red she was mixing.

"Because it's a Christmas color."

"Gold is too, an it shine so much brighter on de tray."

Sighing she began to mix faster. "I'm using red." He shrugged and returned his attention to his own cooking.

Birthday watched them carefully, hoping he wouldn't have to interfere.

Out in the hall, Proud Heart and Loyal had brought their son, Trust Heart, to see the decorations. "Do you like it?" Proud Heart asked the puppy, who just gurgled in reply.

"When you are older, you can make your own ornament to hang on the tree. Just like me and mommy." Loyal Heart pointed out his shiny knight ornament to the pup.

Proud Heart brought her son closer and he reached for the ornament, pawing at it.

"I see the kid likes Christmas," Confidence Heart said, poking her head around the tree.

"Of course he does," Proud Heart said, chucking her son under the chin.

"So he's yours then?" Confidence asked, grinning.

"Yes, he's our son," Loyal Heart replied.

"What? Oh geeze I was kidding sorry," Confidence apologized. "Aren't you a little... young to have kids?"

"We were, but we've risen to the challenge. We're even thinking of having another child," Proud Heart replied.

"Oh well... I need to help decorate," Confidence took off.

"Don't mind her, she's just a little weirded out," Love Heart said.

"It's not a new reaction to us." Loyal Heart replied. "But as my wife said we have grown up faster than those around us and have been thinking of expanding our family."

"Well good luck then. I won't be ready for that for quite some time," Love Heart said.

"Stupid wiring keeps shocking me!" Grumpy's voice was heard coming from nearby.

"I should probably go see about that, I might be able to help," Love Heart said before turning and heading towards the sound of Grumpy's voice.

He was wrapped up in a pile of lights, looking for the one causing all the trouble. He had just finished rewiring the strand to see if that helped them to light. All it had done was shock him over and over. So now he was shaking each bulb to see if one made a rattle.

"Having trouble, Grumpy?" Love Heart asked, peering in trying to find the bear's eyes.

Pushing some of the lights out of his face he was shocked once more. "Oww! What do you think sherlock?"

"You know I could help with this," Love Heart offered. "I can just give the lights each a light electric charge, avoiding the wire, so you know which ones are dead."

"And you just tell me this now?" Holding out the lights to him he said, "Well get to zapping. I don't want to be here all day."

"You're welcome," Love Heart said. He held his hands up and a small cluster of yellow lightning bolts formed before darting into the lights, lighting up all but three while not affecting Grumpy. "There how's that?" he asked.

"Obviously it's better." Grumpy quickly replaced the three bulbs. The new ones quickly flickered on. Getting to his feet he lifted the strand. "Thanks."

"No problem. I'm no expert on electrical stuff but I picked up a few things on earth," Love Heart said. "Want help hanging these?"

"Yeah sure. I prefer not to pull double duty." He handed one of the ends to Love Heart.

"Everything looks like it's on good course," Tenderheart was going around checking off everything on a clipboard as usual. He turned to Perfect, "what do you think of a Kingdom of Caring Christmas so far?"

"It's certainly different from what the villagers did in the valley. So much more colorful," Perfect replied staring around at the decorated interior.

"Hah well do like our colors up here." Tender Heart replied with a smile of his own. He checked over the dance floor decorations, and finding them suitable he checked it off. "Did you have any special traditions at all down there?"

Perfect shook his head, "Not really. Polite and I just watched the villagers from afar but they did special harvest time festivals, though nothing like this."

"Well now I have to make sure this one is extra special for you." Tender Heart told him. Taking Perfect's hand, he said, "There is one tradition I am pretty fond of." Stopping under the doorway to the back he pointed up. A small plant hung there. "It's called mistletoe. You kiss whoever you are under it with."

"Oh, you mean like this," Perfect leaned in and gave Tenderheart a deep kiss on the lips.

Kissing him back, Tender Heart allowed his clipboard to fall to the floor. Seeing them Friend Bear giggled, "Look who's all about the PDA now!" She called to them.

Perfect didn't stop the kiss, just waved a hand in Friend's direction to quiet her down. Secret tugged on Friend's arm and whispered something in her girlfriend's ear.

"I'm sure we will have plenty of time to go under the mistletoe later," Friend told her while grinning.

"So what's left to do then?" Love Heart said, once he and Grumpy had finished hanging up the lights.

Surveying their work he shrugged, "I have no idea. I was just told to do lights." Taking a moment to look around he saw empty boxes everywhere. "I guess we can out those elsewhere."

"Not a bad idea," Love Heart hopped down from the stool he was standing on. "Where do we put them?"

"In the closet." Grabbing two, Grumpy led the way to the storage room. Love Heart nodded and grabbed three before following Grumpy.

Almost at the closet, Grumpy didn't see the still full box of ornaments in his way and stubbed his toe on them, knocking them onto the floor. "Whoaaaa!" He slid on a few and smashed into the wall.

"Aie! You alright," Love Heart dropped the boxes and moved to make sure Grumpy wasn't hurt.

His legs were pressed up against the wall and he was gazing upside down at Love Heart. "Peachy. Who left those freaking ornaments there?"

"Don't ask me," Love Heart said as he helped Grumpy to stand.

Shaking his head to make the room stop spinning he pointed at the closet. "Can you put those away?"

"Sure." Love Heart moved to start putting the boxes into the closet.

Grumpy looked to see who was hanging ornaments. Finding the culprit he scowled, "Lotsa Heart. When you are done with the ornaments, could you try putting them away? I almost broke my ankle just now."

Looking at Grumpy he saw that they bear was a mess of brightly colored balls. "Woops, sorry about that. I guess I forgot and that's the truth." Blushing he came over to help pick them up.

"Here, I can help." Defiant had been watching the activities from nearby and finally moved to offer some help, carefully taking the ornaments off Grumpy.

"Thanks Defiant." Once he was clear of ornaments he said, "Have to say I'm a little surprised to see you here."

"Take Care said that I should be here. A celebration or happy place could help," he shuffled his feet a bit. "He also thought that my missing out on this would do more harm than good."

Placing his hand on Defiant's shoulder Grumpy said, "He was right. It's good to see you out."

Defiant smiled, "Thanks Grumpy."

"Yeah he's right. You should be spending more time out and about with us." Lotsa said as he came up with an armful of ornaments.

"I'll do my best," Defiant replied. He looked at Lotsa, "You going to hang those?"

"Nah these are all extra I need to take them back up to the attic. This way Defiant." He moved towards the stairs.

Grumpy handed the badger another box of ornaments, "You can at least make sure he doesn't get stuck in a picture up there."

"I'll try," Defiant replied, taking the box before following after Lotsa Heart.

Lotsa Heart was humming to himself as he climbed the stairs. "So what did you ask Santa for this year Defiant?"

"Nothing really… hasn't been on my mind," Defiant replied as they finally made it up to the attic.

"Well you still have time. It's still Christmas Eve after all. I'm asking for a new iPod and headphones. I accidentally squished mine while dancing." Lotsa chuckled, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Whoops," Defiant laughed half-heartedly then sighed. "I don't really have any material wants at the moment."

Lotsa grinned at him, "Awwww I'm sure we can think of something else then."

"If you have any ideas let me know," Defiant said, setting his box of ornaments down. "Is here good?"

"I'm sure it's fine. As you can see it really isn't that organized." Lotsa kicked a ball out of the way to emphasize his point.

"Heh, I guess not," Defiant noted. "Lots of memories up here?"

"Oh sure. We've tried to clean up here loads of times. Plus this is where all the family photo albums are," he pointed to the box of thick binders.

"What's in here?" Defiant picked one up and blew the dust off before opening. Lotsa came over to see what he had found.

"Is this you... lifting up Swift Heart in her crib?" Defiant asked.

Lotsa Heart laughed. "Yup. She was sad that day so I was trying to cheer her up. She always says I know how to lift her spirits."

"I can see that. You're really strong," Defiant noted, looking over Lotsa's build before turning back to the album.

Seeing the next picture Lotsa laughed, "Hahahaha look at Grumpy's bonnet."

Defiant chuckled, "I guess he does have bad luck."

Lotsa reached over Defiant to turn to the next page, "Ah don't let him convince you of that. He does alright."

"Yeah, I mean he's with Swift Heart," Defiant nodded. He noticed a picture of a baby Valiant Heart trying to chase after an obviously much faster baby Swift Heart.

"Valiant never could let it go that Swift Heart was faster than him," Lotsa told him. "And I'm pretty sure if anyone ever did beat her she would go ballistic."

"Well what about those flash step things that he and Snowy can do?" Defiant asked.

"She says that doesn't' count cause they're not really running, just 'dashing' or something like that," Lotsa said.

"Ahh. I guess that makes sense," Defiant nodded, turning the page once again.

"There was one of our first Halloweens. Cheer forced Champ to dress up as her groom." He pointed to Cheer in the wedding dress and veil. "Playful Heart was a jack in the box. He scared the bajeezus out of everyone who touched his box."

"I would have loved to see that," Defiant said. He turned to another picture, "Hey, is that Perfect and Polite?" he asked, seeing the two pandas as babies.

"Oh sure. They were up here for a bit before Dark Heart scared them away. I don't really remember it much. Even then they kept to themselves," Lotsa said.

"I don't have many good memories of my home back on earth. My adopted parents didn't really care about me one way or the other." Defiant leaned back up against Lotsa Heart.

Putting his arm around him he gave Defiant's shoulders a squeeze. "Awww there there tough guy. You can make good memories here. I didn't know my parents either. True Heart and Noble found me in a game preserve with other orphaned animals."

"Do you know how you ended up there?" Defiant asked.

Lotsa shrugged, "Not really. They figured my parents had been poached for their ivory. But no one knew for sure. I tried to go back when I was older but the place was gone."

"That's too bad," Defiant said. "Should we head back downstairs?"

"Probably. I don't want to miss the dance." Taking Defiant's hand he headed for the stairs.

"You can dance?" Defiant asked, surprised.

Laughing, Lotsa replied. "You know I do. I told you that day you came to my tree house." Lotsa did a few moves to prove his point.

"Oh yeah, well so much has happened lately so I forgot, sorry," Defiant apologized.

"Defiant, I am probably the last person in the world you have to apologize to for being forgetful and that's the truth."

Defiant managed a laugh, "That's good." They headed back downstairs.

The party was about to get underway as they arrived, Harmony was checking the sound system's music and Illusion, Treat Heart and Birthday were bringing out the last of the food.

Funshine and Playful were turning on all the lights. Playful was happy to be able to tumble about without his harness.

"Hey guys the place looks great!"

Funshine smiled at Swift Heart as she came up to her. "Thanks. We think so. How did you get out of helping?"

Swift Heart grinned, "I offered to babysit Hugs and Tugs."

"You babysat?" Playful asked. "How did it go?"

"Fine. They are pretty easy. I just had to make sure they didn't crawl off anywhere, and I am much faster than them. Tugs like's to try and stick things up his nose though," Swift Heart said.

"Like me when I was a kid," Playful laughed.

"Ugh let's hope not. I can barely handle you." Swift Heart ruffled his hair and gave him a little shove.

"Well let's not stand around talking about kids, let's start having a party!" Funshine said, grabbing Playful and spinning him towards the dance floor as the music finally started. Swift Heart too made her way to the dance floor. If Grumpy chose to join her she knew he would. Dancing wasn't really his thing.

Defiant noticed the dance music starting. "So, uhh, want to dance, Lotsa?" he asked.

"Absolutely!" He pulled them onto the dance floor and began to do all sorts of dance moves.

Swift Heart smiled over at them. "You gotta go with it Defiant. Don't fight the flow."

"Well slow down, I can't keep up!" Defiant said, trying to follow Lotsa.

Moving behind him, Lotsa put his hands on Defiant's shoulders, "Like this." Gently he began to move the badger from side to side.

Proud Heart was watching from the sidelines, she had set Trust Heart in an auto-swing to keep him calm. Thankfully the bright lights didn't seem to be disturbing him. "Looks like Defiant and Lotsa are getting together hmm?" she turned to Love-a-Lot who was at the food table nearby.

"Oh totally. Lotsa has been giving off new vibes ever since school started. I think it will be just what Defiant needs." Biting into a cookie with so many sugar sprinkles on it, it sparkled she made a satisfied noise. "Proud Heart have one of these!"

"Sounds good," she patted her son's head, "have fun dear." She moved to take a cookie. "Wow these are good, Birthday's you think?"

"Certainly not Illusion. Too unhealthy," She said with a giggle as she took another bite.

"Good thing he wasn't the only one cooking tonight," Proud Heart said.

As they spoke, Confidence Heart moved to the dance floor and started moving with the music. "I haven't had a good chance to dance in ages!" she said.

"That's because you've been spending all your time singing," Cheer told her from where she and Champ were dancing.

"I don't sing, trust me you don't want to hear me," Confidence Heart replied.

"Nah, go on and give your rhythm a spin!" Harmony encouraged her.

Confidence took a deep breath and sang along with part of the song, _"Baby you a song, you make me wanna roll my windows down and cruise." _Her voice seemed to warble up and down and everyone on the dance floor stopped to stare, Cheer and Champ even covered their ears.

"Told you I can't sing. I just play instruments," Confidence Heart shook her head.

"Well, it's a good thing you play your instruments better than that, otherwise you'd be out of a job," Cheer teased as she uncovered her ears.

"And you seem to be a pretty good dancer." Swift Heart offered.

"Gotta have good balance and coordination for martial arts and gymnastics," Confidence replied.

"Well sure. And I'm sure having Fauna with you for a few months taught you something." Cheer said with a wink.

"We taught each other some things," Confidence said. "Now where's my dance partner?" she searched the hall for Love Heart.

"Seems like some boys always seem to vanish when the music starts." Swift Heart replied. Jolly came charging onto the floor with Cozy, pulling her so hard she was practically floating. Laughing Swift Heart amended her statement, "And some have to be persuaded to stop."

Love Heart was on the other side of the tree and he peered over that the dance floor. "Huh, did someone call me?" he asked.

"I did!" A burst of wind and Confidence was at his side, grabbing and pulling him back to the dance floor.

Swift Heart and Cheer laughed at Confidence's treatment of Love Heart. The song ended and a new one came on. Cozy managed to get close enough to Swift Heart to whisper, "If you want to borrow Jolly for a sssong, I wouldn't mind."

She smiled at Cozy, "I'll keep that in mind, and rescue you in a few songs." Before Swift could thank Cozy Jolly pulled her back, making her yelp.

"Enthusiastic isn't he," Confidence noted.

"You would know," Love Heart retorted, smiling despite that.

"How else was I supposed to get you over here?" Confidence gave Love Heart a kiss.

"By hook or by crook I believe the saying goes." Champ offered. Before he could say anything else however, Cheer distracted him with a kiss of his own.

"I think I'm getting this," Defiant Heart said, still focusing on Lotsa's dance lesson.

"I'd say you are. You are doing much better." Twirling away slightly Lotsa spun a few circles.

"So what next?" Defiant asked.

"Try moving around if you think you can. you don't have to stay still." Lotsa did a hop to demonstrate.

"Alright." Defiant began to follow Lotsa around the dance floor.

As they came leaping at Swift Heart, she stepped aside. "Try not hitting other dancers though. And Gentle Heart, get out here and stop being so self-conscious." She yelled to her fellow cousin.

"I'm waiting for Bright Heart," Gentle Heart said, looking over at where the raccoon was eating from the buffet table.

"You don't have to you know. I'm going stag out here." Swift twitched her fingers at Gentle, beckoning her onto the floor.

"If you think so," Gentle Heart made her way to the dance floor.

Swift Heart bumped her hip into Gentle's, "Good job. You can keep me company till Fauna gets here."

"Alright. Think Nova and Renegade are coming too?" Gentle asked, starting to move along with Swift Heart.

"I'd assume so. Nova likes to experience stuff like this. And I know Blue isn't coming," Swift Heart replied.

"Why not. Not a fan of Christmas?" Gentle asked.

"Pegasus don't celebrate Christmas. They have their own festival coming up soon that he has to get ready for," she replied.

"Makes sense. Think they'll stay in human form the whole time?" Gentle Heart asked.

Swift Heart looked at her confused, "Who? Fauna and Blue are the only two with human forms."

"Renegade and Nova do too. We saw them remember?" Gentle Heart looked back at her, equally confused.

"Oh I thought you were still talking about the pegasus Gentle. Yeah I'm sure those two will. That form makes more sense for this." She held her hands up indicating their surroundings.

"I'm just worried Guidance might… go a little nuts again," Gentle Heart turned to where the blue raccoon was chatting with Bright Heart.

"I'll have to take your word on that. We haven't really spoken much since the concert." She too looked over at the couple.

"Why not?" Gentle asked.

"She's still pissed at me for what I said to the Magi," She answered while rolling her eyes. "Whatever. Doesn't affect me one way or another."

"Oh, well I guess I understand. I like that she's back here, she's into a lot of the stuff that Bright Heart and I like." Gentle Heart smiled.

"Doesn't surprise me." Swift Heart replied. Seeing Fauna enter the Hall Swift Heart jumped and shouted her name to get her attention.

Fauna joined them on the dance floor, easily finding her groove. "I am so excited you are staying over!"

"Me too!" Fauna replied with a huge grin. "Hey Gentle."

"Hey Fauna. Are Renegade and Nova coming?" She asked.

She waved her hand at the door, "Nova got distracted by something. I don't know what. But they had to stop so Renegade could explain it to her." She looked slightly exasperated.

"Was it your grave?" Gentle Heart asked.

"My grave? You guys still have that up?" She frowned at the two cousins.

"I guess we just haven't felt like taking it down." Swift Heart replied.

"Well we can do that tomorrow. Besides, I want to see how you guys paid respects to me," Fauna teased.

"So this is a Christmas party?" Nova asked as she and Renegade entered the Hall of Hearts.

"I guess so, this is a first for me too," Renegade replied.

Swift Heart snickered at Fauna, "Now that face made sense."

"It's like raising two kids of my own. I have to explain everything. What's so funny?"

Swift Heart shook her head, "Now you know how Grumpy and I felt when you were younger."

Faun stuck her tongue out at her. "Speaking of, where is Grumpus?"

"Hiding somewhere. He hates dancing."

"Well while I go make sure those two are okay, I'll see if I can find him." Fauna moved to intercept her brother and Nova. "Glad to see you made it."

"Thanks, Fauna. What were you doing over there with the music?" Nova asked.

"Dancing Nova. It's when you move in time to the music and express how it makes you feel." She told the young unicorn.

"It is hard?" Renegade asked.

"Not for me." She grinned, exposing her teeth. "They key to dancing is to only have a certain degree of control." She showed off a few simple moves. "You don't want to look stupid and you want to keep in time, but you don't want to look rigid and rehearsed."

"So what, we should just dive in and wing it?" Renegade asked.

"Sounds about right. Let's try it!" Nova took hold of Renegade's hand and pulled him towards the dance floor.

Moving to the music stand she put on a song that had a dance that went along with it. "Alright you two. Follow what I and the others do. This dance goes with this song and is good for beginners like you."

"So as long as we don't knock people over we're good?" Renegade asked.

"Hahah basically." With that Fauna started to direct them in the steps of the Cha-Cha slide. Renegade and Nova got into the stride quite easily, a few stumbles mostly from Nova who wasn't as used to walking on two legs as Renegade was.

"Not bad kiddos." Harmony complimented.

"So what's with the big tree covered in decorations?" Nova asked.

"It's a Christmas tree," Love Heart answered as he and Confidence danced near to her and Renegade. "We set it up and decorate it for fun every year as part of the season."

"So you cut down a perfectly good tree, just to cover it in Junk?" Nova asked.

Fauna smirked. "Ours is a fake. We use the same one every year."

"Well that's good." Nova sighed in relief.

"Still a unicorn aren't you," Renegade teased.

"I want to be different but I still have some of my race's beliefs," Nova replied.

"So does Fauna. It's why we have the fake one."

Fauna nodded at Swift Heart's statement. "I threw a fit when I was, what, 5 or 6?"

"A fit about the tree?" Renegade asked.

"Yeah. I hated the whole chopping down a tree thing just so it can live a few weeks and die. Plus, I was sure Granddame Ferra would find out somehow and come here to punish everyone," Fauna explained.

"Well it's all good now at least. Where's Grumpy?" Renegade asked, noticing the bear was nowhere in sight.

Swift Heart threw up her arms. "I don't know! Yeesh! why does everyone care!"

Fauna held her hands up, "Take it easy Swift. Jeeze, guilty much? He's probably outside." Fauna pointed to the door to the fire pit.

"Anger's still out there. Hope they aren't fighting." Love Heart sighed.

Fauna and Swift Heart exchanged a look and attempted to sneak off the dance floor as calmly as they could, before ultimately running outside.

"So the fire pit's ready, should I light it?" Anger Heart asked Grumpy and Terra Heart.

"I could use the warmth," Terra Heart said.

Throwing the last bit of wood in, Grumpy rubbed his arms. "No. I like turning even bluer. And since when do you ask for permission to light things on fire."

"Since I don't want the fire to spread to the hall." Anger Heart created a small fireball in his palm, "My grandpa taught me to be careful around dry wood. I should go see him before new year's," he mused. He shook his head and tossed the fireball into the pit, setting it alight.

"Probably should." Grumpy replied, holding his hands out to the fire.

"Hey boys, how's it going?" Swift Heart asked as she arrived, shivering almost instantly.

"Just started the fire," Terra Heart said, sticking her digging claws towards the source of heat.

"And no, Anger and I are not fighting." Grumpy retorted. He also moved over to her, pulling her into his arms to keep her warm.

Fauna gave a happy sigh as the heat reached her. "I like this."

"You're welcome," Anger Heart said. "Is Guidance looking for me?" he asked.

"I wouldn't know." Swift Heart told him. "We lost track of her a while ago."

"Well she might be looking for me so I should go in. We can talk more later Grumpy," Anger said as he headed inside.

"So you two really are playing nice?" Swift Heart asked him.

"Yea, he was asking me about storing their truck somewhere." Grumpy told her.

"I see." She tilted her head back to smile at him and he took the opportunity to kiss her. "If you're cold we can go back in."

"Nah, I'm starting to like it out here." She replied.

"Well I'm going back in to dance." Fauna told them before leaving.

"I might go in. I like music," Terra said, getting up and making her way towards the hall as well.

"Well isn't this convenient," Swift Heart told him. "Here we are with the whole place to ourselves." She turned in Grumpy's arms so she was facing him. "You done avoiding me yet? I swear I won't make you dance."

"Yeah, I'm done," Grumpy reassured her, putting his arms around her.

"Good. Because this whole mess with Fauna has made me clingy and I didn't like you being out of sight," she informed him.

"Then cling all you want," Grumpy said, giving her a kiss.

Back inside, Fauna had removed Ren and Nova from the dance floor and deposited them in front of the food table. "Here. Eat something."

"It's so colorful," Nova said, picking up a cookie shaped like a Christmas tree. She bit into it and shuddered. "It's sweet!" she exclaimed.

Fauna's eyes widened momentarily. Making sure she had Nova's attention she told her, "Alright. What you are eating is basically pure sugar. That's the equivalent of 10 flowers worth of nectar from your world. Do. Not. Go overboard. I draw the line at wrangling a sugar buzzed unicorn."

"Sugar buzzed?" Nova asked.

"I don't know but don't go overboard," Renegade added to his sister's caution.

"What's overboard?" Nova asked.

"Uhh... I don't know," Renegade replied.

"By the..." Fauna stopped her almost rant and began looking the cookies over. "No more than three cookies per hour. Your body isn't used to that much sugar and you will feel super energized and happy."

"Like at White Fang and Aurora's mating ceremony," Nova noted as she finished her first cookie, "Is there anything here's that's not that sweet?"

Finding Illusion's cookies she pointed them out. "Yeah. Those are probably more what you are used to. I however," She grabbed a very well iced cookie, "grew up on the stuff and intend to partake. Mwahaha." She took a bite before walking away to visit with some of the others.

"Illusion hates processed sugar with a passion so it should be safe," Renegade said, taking one of the cookies mentioned.

"De still good. I swear. I jus use de raw stuff. An not a lot o' it. Here." Illusion handed them each a chocolate chip cookie.

"Well I guess I'll go with your stuff. What happens when someone gets sugar buzzed?" Nova asked Illusion.

"You met Playful Heart yet chere?" He asked while pointing to the monkey.

"I haven't gotten to know him," Nova said, watching the monkey as he and Funshine moved to the dance floor.

"Well you be actin' a lot like him. Crazy."

Renegade and Nova watched the couple dancing, "I see." Nova said, munching on the cookie Illusion had given her. "This is really good."

"Merci petite. An don take Fauna's words to couer. A few of Treat Heart's won' make you unravel," He pushed another plate near her with a wink, before moving off.

"Might as well," Nova took another of Treat Heart's cookies and began munching.

Fauna whacked Etienne on the shoulder as he passed her. "OW!"

"They go crazy, they are your responsibility."

He chuckled, "Tink of it as payback fo' all de steaks you heisted from me. Now dance wid me till Glory gets here." He escorted a bemused Fauna onto the floor.

Back on the dance floor the music had moved to a slower dance. Defiant was more at ease with Lotsa but he spotted the food table. "Wanna get something to eat, Lotsa?" he asked.

"That sounds like a good idea."

"Good." Defiant and Lotsa broke off and headed to the table. "Like the food, Nova?" Defiant asked.

"It's good," Nova said, after swallowing the cookie she had in her mouth.

"Yummm. Cupcakes too!" Lotsa took one, biting into the icing Santa Claus sitting on top.

"Should be good," Defiant took a similar cupcake and bit into it.

"Of courfe ift good." Lotsa Heart responded with a full mouth.

"I agree," Nova was grinning as she took another.

Renegade held out a hand, "maybe you shouldn't eat so much, Nova," he said.

"I'll be fine," Nova said, taking another cupcake. "So are you two courting?" she asked Defiant and Lotsa.

"Courting?" Defiant gave her a confused look.

Shrugging Lotsa Heart guessed, "Like playing basketball on a court?"

"I think the human term is dating," Renegade corrected Nova.

Defiant almost dropped his snack. "What umm..."

"No Nova. We were just dancing." He laughed her assumption off.

Defiant didn't say anything and just stared down, deep in thought.

"Oh well, I was just wondering," Nova said, taking a cupcake.

"What about you two?" Lotsa asked as he pointed at them.

"Maybe," Renegade turned to Nova but she seemed distracted by the food.

"I think I'm good, what about you Lotsa?" Defiant asked the elephant.

He nodded. "Back to the dance floor!" Trumpeting he turned around.

When they were halfway to the dance floor Defiant stopped Lotsa Heart and asked. "Lotsa, I have to know... are you gay or straight?"

"Hmmm. I'm not sure. I never really liked anyone enough before to tell," Lotsa confessed.

"I see," Defiant said. "Well let's dance then," he said, forcing a smile before starting back towards the dance floor.

Lotsa whispered in his ear, "But I may like you. So I think I'll know soon." Blushing he began to dance a few feet away. Defiant blushed too before joining Lotsa in dance.

"Hey Champ, we are heading to the ice rink. You and Cheer wanna join?" Brave Heart asked from the door. With him was Illusion, Cozy, Jolly, Gloria, tender heart, and Perfect.

"Sure!" Champ called back, "did you bring your skates, Cheer?" he asked.

"Of course I did!" She ran to get them.

"Sweet!" Champ grinned and ran to grab his own.

"Remember Brave Heart, you promised to not let go of me." Harmony reminded him as she eyed the ice.

"I won't," Brave Heart promised.

Snowy and Share were already on the rink, Snowy still looked like he was dressed for autumn weather while share was in a heavier coat. "The Rink's fine, no bumps or chips!" Snowy called.

"I ssshould hope not." Cozy said as she skipped onto the ice. She too was in attire appropriate for warmer weather.

"So how do I do this?" Perfect asked Tenderheart, taking a step onto the rink and almost immediately slipping and falling backwards. Thankfully Tenderheart caught him before he hit the ground.

"Haha. I got you. Just gently push your feet." He moved in front of Perfect and held his hands, guiding him forward.

"Like this Tender?" Perfect asked, following Tenderheart's directions carefully.

"Yea there you go," he said encouragingly. "The more comfortable you get, the faster you can go."

Cheer went speeding by laughing "yea like this!"

Perfect watched her skate past. "She's sparkly," he said, before moving his eyes down to make sure he wasn't going to slip.

"She likes skating. She insisted she would be an Olympic medallist when we were younger." Moving to skate next to him Tender Heart gripped his hand, "You keep looking down and you are going to fall."

Perfect looked up at Tenderheart. "I'm not used to the ground being slippery," he said.

"What? You mean there is no ice in that valley of yours?" Champ asked teasingly.

"No, just the ridiculous amounts of snow around it." Swift Heart hollered from where she was sitting on a bench with Grumpy.

"Polite and I didn't go out in the snow for fun," Perfect retorted, "And I've never seen enough smooth ice in one place to risk slipping before now."

"Ignore them honey, you are doing just fine." Tender Heart told him.

"Thanks Tender." Perfect gave him a kiss before returning to his skating.

"See, you're getting the hang of it," Brave Heart said, as he helped Harmony to skate.

She didn't loosen her vice grip on his hand. "Yeah but the minute you let go, I'm going to fall. I just know it. So don't." She wobbled slightly and gave a little yelp.

"You will if you keep thinking you will. It's like ridin' a bicycle," Brave Heart reassured her. "Jus' look at Cozy and Illusion, they're doing fine."

"Cozy was born on the ice. And Illusion is good at everything, like you and Champ." Noticing something she scowled, "Plus his tail is dragging on the ice, man. That's like having a kick stand."

"Jus' find your center, I know you can do it." Brave Heart gave her a kiss.

Slowly she loosened her hold on his hand. Standing taller as she did so she attempted to find her balance. Leaning too far back she almost fell and grabbed for Brave Heart's again, closing her eyes. "Ahh! Help!"

"I gotcha!" Brave Heart grabbed her around the waist carefully, helping her get steady.

Sighing in relief she shook her head, "I don't know what my issue is. Something about this frictionless stuff does not sit right with my vibes."

"You just need to get used to it, Harmony," Brave Heart said. "Here, I'll hold you while you skate."

"Thanks Brave." She kissed his cheek.

Cozy and Cheer were skating backwards and chatting, "So your feet really don't get cold?"

"Nope. I can't feel a thing. Really." She wiggled her webbed toes in emphasis.

"That's some insulation you've got," Snowy commented as he skated near them, leaving Share who had insisted on trying to maintain her own balance for a while. "I tried going barefoot once but the fur on my legs froze when I got off. Not pleasant."

"How unfortunate for you Ssssnowy. Good thing I don't have any fur." She told him with a wink. "Nothing like being able to ssslide down down a glacier on your belly." Doing a little spin she faced forwards again.

"You're definitely unique," Snowy commented before turning to Cheer. "Where did you get that sparkly leotard?" he asked

"I bought it on earth. All the pro's wear them, They add to the performance." Cheer did a flying camel into a triple axel to prove her point. Her sparkles flashed in the dim light.

"Like the Olympics," Snowy surmised.

She nodded, "Yes like the Olympics."

"Ssshe alwaysss dreamed of being an Olympic figure sssskater," Cozy chimed in.

"Really?" Snowy sounded impressed.

Cheer nodded, "Yeah. It just seemed like they had so much fun doing it. Plus, I like knowing I'm the best at something, and that's what Olympic medals are all about."

"You could still go for it," Perfect said as he and Tenderheart skated nearby.

"Nah it's okay." Cheer replied with a smile, "I would hate being away from home for so long. And I would miss you all too much." Doing a little jump and twirl she added, "Besides, I'm the best up here so I can be happy with that."

"That you are, what about you Champ?" Perfect asked.

"I'm not much for fancy skating," Champ admitted.

"He's more of the all-American football, baseball type," Cheer added.

"Yeah that about sums me up," Champ agreed.

"Wha' bout you mate? You loike any sports?" Jolly asked.

Perfect put a hand on his chin, "Hmm, you know I never thought about it. But I am interested in figure skating after watching Cheer out there."

"Really? Well I could teach you if you want. Oh! This is so exciting! I never get to teach anyone anything!" Cheer clapped her hands in excitement.

"Great... just give Tender a little more time to get me stable on my feet," Perfect laughed as his legs wobbled.

"That shouldn't take long. You are doing great."

"Plusss, I can alwaysss make a ssskating rink for you in the Foressst of Feelingsss to practice on." Cozy offered.

"What do you think about all of this, Tender?" Perfect turned to his boyfriend.

"I think it will be good for you to have a hobby. I'm going to be busy over the next few weeks with school and helping to catch up on caring mission reports. This is our busy season."

"Well then I'll be seeing you after school then," Perfect said to Cheer. He tried to skate on his own and slipped, falling on his rear. "OW!"

Tender Heart tried his best not to laugh, but a few chuckles came out. "Are you alright Perfect?" He helped his boyfriend up.

"Just sore, I need support for a little longer," Perfect replied as he got on his skates again.

"I'll be here. Don't worry." He took a grip of Perfect's hand once more.

"Blymee that's beautiful. You blokes are makin me all weepy fer moi sheila." Skating up behind Cozy Illusion put his arms around her and lifting her off the ice.

"Jolly! Put me down!" She chuckled.

"Nevah love!" he told her.

Back inside the hall, the music had changed and most of the dancing couples had left to eat, or check the presents under the tree. Nova was grinning as she munched on another one of Treat Heart's cookies.

Renegade eyed her cautiously, "Umm, Nova, aren't you going a bit overboard?" he asked.

"Illusion said a few wouldn't hurt me. Relax," she said around her mouthful of crumbs. Fauna rolled her eyes, eating her own slice of cake.

"If she goes overboard I'll handle it," Renegade reassured his sister. "So what's with the colored boxes under the tree?"

"They're presents. People give them to each other to let them know they are thinking of each other. And just to be nice." Coyly she said, "I'm pretty sure someone put some for you two under there."

"I'll go check, just give me a minute to get Nova away from this," Renegade said, turning back. He intercepted the next cookie, "alright, I think you've had enough."

"Com'on, they're good," Nova said.

"We don't want you running around 'sugar buzzed' or whatever my sister said," Renegade countered.

Fauna watched them go, "When he experiences his first sugar rush he'll understand what I'm talking about."

"Fauna Grey Wolf! Did you open one of your presents already?" True Heart yelled at her.

Fauna promptly hid her left wrist behind her back, "No True Heart. Why do you say that?"

"Nice try missy. I saw the bracelet I got you already." She did not look happy. Her arms were crossed and her foot tapping. Fauna tried to think up an excuse.

"Fauna, please don't cause a scene," Noble Heart came up behind her. "Why did you open your gift early?"

Shrugging innocently she replied "I didn't mean to. I was just checking over my gifts like always, and I found the one from you and True Heart. You guys always give me the best gifts so I just couldn't resist." Bringing forth her wrist she displayed the bracelet there. "Does it help if I say I love it?"

"Possibly," Noble Heart looked to his wife for her opinion.

True Heart was fighting a smile, "You know the rules young lady. You open a present before Christmas and you have to give it back and don't get it again till January is over." She held her hand out for the bracelet.

Fauna clasped her other hand onto it, "But Truey!" Putting on her best puppy dog eyes she turned to Noble, "Noble Heart, can't you convince her to make an exception just this once?"

"Well..." Noble Heart turned to True Heart and they seemed to exchange a conversation without words, "Because you're still just coming back we'll make this one exception. But if you open any other presents before it's time then you won't get any of your Christmas presents until March, even the ones you didn't open."

Grinning she threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek, "Thanks Noble! That's totally fair!"

"Just show a little more self-control from now on, OK?" He asked, as he hugged Fauna back.

"Come on, me? Self-control?" She laughed. "I'll do my best." Letting go of him she gave True Heart a brief hug as well, "Thanks True Heart. I promise I won't let any of the others know."

"I'd rather you didn't, but Noble Heart's right," True Heart hugged Fauna back. "Now maybe you can tell me what's going on with your brother and Nova, with the food I mean." True Heart looked over at the two, Nova was jittering slightly.

"I tried to stop it! I really did! They, and by they I mean mostly Nova, have been snacking on Treat Heart and Birthday's cookies all night." Seeing the founders didn't grasp the importance of this she added, "Neither of them are used to processed sugar."

"Oh my," True Heart turned to look at Nova. "I'll run out and see if mom can make some sort of sugar detox candy for them." True Heart hurried over to Grams, who was watching Hugs and Tugs.

"I hope Grams can whip something up if Nova does go overboard," Noble Heart commented then smiled, "I remember when you first got a taste of processed sugar treats. Your wings were buzzing like a hummingbird's and you were in your natural form."

Grinning she nodded, "I remember that. I was zipping all over Care-a-Lot. I think it took you guys a few hours to catch me." Thinking back she laughed, "Wait! Didn't I steal glitter and had it fall behind me as I flew, claiming it was pixie dust?"

Noble Heart chuckled, "Yes you did. Took us ages to clean it up, I think we still find sparkly trees in the Forest of Feelings sometimes."

"Good. There should be a way up here for you guys to remember me always." Looking sheepish she added, "I have one in the Falls. I got one of our group pictures framed and I have it hanging from a tree by my nest."

"That's sweet," Noble Heart looked up, "Hold on. I think I see Playful trying to sneak one of gifts off the tree." Noble Heart darted off shouting, "Playful, you better not be sneaking your gifts!"

Smiling she looked around the Hall, "Man I forgot how much I missed this place."

"And we missed you too," Funshine said as she hurried past, hoping to stop her boyfriend form doing something foolish.

"Need Help Funshine? Or can you handle him alone?" Fauna called after her.

"If you want to help then feel free!" Funshine called.

Getting up she ran after Funshine. "Playful, don't do it! I know you got some stuff you really wanted!"

"What?!" Playful looked up, his hands an inch away from a box when Funshine, who had overtaken Noble Heart, tackled him. Playful only stayed upright by using his tale to balance.

"Whoa, Sunshine!" Playful exclaimed, pushing harder with his tail until he was directly upright.

"Nice moves Funshine!" Fauna complimented. She pushed Playful's gifts farther under the tree and even blocked them with some of Grumpy's. Everyone knew not to touch his.

"Aww!" Playful pouted.

Funshine managed to get her feet on the floor and she gently tweaked Playful's ear. "Just be patient. If you're bored I can think of some fun stuff we can do without ruining anyone's time."

"Oh, alright. For you Sunshine," Playful kissed a giggling Funshine.

"Have I told you two that I adore you as a couple?" Fauna told them. Looking to Noble she said, "No harm, no foul. Presents are safe."

"Good," Noble Heart said. "Now I'm going to see about the other two immortals and their seemingly building sugar high," he added turning and jogging towards Renegade and Nova.

"Not used to sweets I take it," Funshine said.

"Think about my first time...and multiply it by two." Fauna told her. "You two want to go have a snowball fight with me outside?"

"Sounds great, or did you have something else in mind?" Playful turned to Funshine.

"Nope, let's do it!" she replied before the three of them took off.

Outside Fauna got to the nearest snow drift and began scooping up snow, making it into fist size balls. She was trying to get as many done as she could before the pranksters began to retaliate. Funshine and Playful worked fast, scooping up less elegant but more numerous snowballs than Fauna. Playful was ready all too soon and he threw one in Fauna's direction.

It struck her shoulder making her yelp, "Dammit! You were always too fast at this." Holding some spares she chucked a snowball back at the monkey, and then another at Funshine.

Playful ducked and avoided getting hit but Funshine got hit near her neck. "Ahh!" she cries as the snow slid into his shirt. She picked up and threw a ball but it missed and sailed over Fauna, striking a surprised Swift Heart in the back of the head.

Yelping her hand flew up to the back of her head. Touching snow she squealed in outrage, "Alright! Who threw that?" Grumpy was wiping the snow spray from the snowball off his eyes.

"Sorry! I was aiming for Fauna!" Funshine yelled as she grabbed another snowball and threw it, this time hitting Fauna directly.

Swift Heart turned back around and saw Grumpy's eyes widen. In the next second, his arms were up and he was shielding his face. Another snowball hit her back. "Seriously!"

Looking for the culprit she saw Fauna tossing another snowball up and down, "That one was on purpose. What are you going to do about it?"

"Oh I'll show you." Stooping she grabbed snow and lobbed it at Fauna. Leaving the bench and Grumpy she joined in the fight.

The area near the skating rink quickly turned into a warzone with snowballs of every shape and size flying between the four combatants. The skaters had all stopped to watch.

"That's quite a battle over there," Snowy noted, watching.

Illusion nodded, "My money on Playful an Funshine. What you tink chere?" he asked Grateful.

"I agree," Gloria nodded. "Playful and Funshine are faster."

"I dunno sports fans. If Fauna and Swift Heart decide to team up, they can be pretty unbeatable. You guys weren't around when we were younger. Fauna used to get frustrated halfway through and shift into a form. Swift Heart would speed around and distract us while Fauna retaliated," Champ said.

"So should we just watch?" Perfect asked, "I don't want to get soaked."

Cheer looked at Brave Heart and saw his tail starting to twitch. "Umm I don't think Brave Heart agrees."

"CHAAARRRGGGEEE!" Leaping off the ice and shedding his skates, Brave Heart joined the fray.

"Well he can disagree all he wants but I'm staying here," Perfect said.

Twin yells sounded as Brave Heart hit Fauna and Swift Heart. As they rid their ears of snow he went for Funshine and Playful. "I could use some Bear assistance here! I'm outnumbered!" Funshine called.

"I'll take you up on that," Champ gave Cheer a kiss, "Wish me luck Cheer," he said as he skated to the edge and kicked off his skates before joining in.

"Wish you luck? I'm coming too!" Taking off her own skates she looked to Harmony.

"Oh nuh uh. I am not getting ice and snow chilling my spine. Besides, I'm not sure Swift Heart won't hit me out of spite. Ya dig?" Harmony asked.

"Oh, good point." Smiling at her friend Cheer headed for the fight.

"They sure get riled up here, Tender," Perfect said, turning his head to face Tenderheart.

Tender Heart rolled his eyes, "No matter how old they get, they will always act like schoolyard children."

"I could hit them from here if I wanted," Snowy commented.

"Snowy..." Share took a hold of his arm.

"But I won't. I'd rather avoid conflict if I can," Snowy reassured her.

"Want to join in, Illy?" Gloria asked.

He shook his head, "Dat too cold fo' me chere. But if you want to den be my guest."

"I'd rather not, but if you did I would," Gloria said, giving Illusion a kiss.

"Desole chere. You know I don like de cold." He hugged her from behind.

"No need to be sorry," Gloria reassured him.

"What about you, Cozy?" Perfect asked the penguin.

"Nope, I'm okay. I like watching them." She told him.

"Not me, love. OI'm oll in." Jolly left the ice for the snowball fight.

"Oooh tough, sorry Cozy," Perfect said, watching Jolly go.

"Oww! That was my nose!" Cheer yelled at Playful. He stuck out his tongue in response making her chase him. Poor Grumpy was still trapped on the bench not wanting to be hit by snow balls.

There was a flash of white light and a few white arrows struck near Grumpy, forming a wall of ice between him and the battle. "Just tell me where you want to go and I'll shield you!" Snowy called to Grumpy from the ice rink, his snowflake shaped bow on his left arm.

"Back inside, away from the lunatics!" a stray snowball splattered on the ice wall.

Snowy nodded and fired several more of his ice arrows, creating a low ice wall leading back to the Hall of Hearts' doorway, letting Grumpy scurry back inside on all fours unscathed. Once inside he made a beeline for the food table, wanting hot cocoa and food.

"What's happening outside?" Anger Heart asked, looking at the half-soaked Grumpy Bear.

"Oh just an epic snowball fight. Nothing unusual," he muttered while attempting to dry off using a napkin. "Swifty got roped in which left me out in the cold."

Anger Heart nodded, "Ahh. Wish I could dry you off but I'd probably set you, or something else, on fire."

"And that would be a disaster," Guidance Heart added.

Grumpy scowled, "Yeah thanks, but no thanks. I'll manage." He grabbed a cupcake and took a bite.

"Could be worse, and that's the truth," Lotsa Heart said from across the table.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't want to be out there right now," Defiant added.

"Why? Might have too much fun?" Grumpy asked him. Defiant shrunk back.

"Grumpy! Please don't say stuff like that," Lotsa suddenly sprang to Defiant's defense. He picked up the plate of food they had gathered and helped Defiant away from the table.

"What did I say NOW?" Exasperated he looked to Anger and Guidance for an explanation.

"Didn't they say Defiant was depressed?" Guidance Heart asked.

"Yea. But I've always said things like that. No one takes it seriously. No one takes me seriously," Grumpy replied.

"Well depressed people take everything seriously so maybe just take it a bit easier on Defiant until he's feeling better," Guidance suggested.

Grumpy sighed, "Oh good. I just love having to edit my true Thoughts and feelings," he took another bite of his food.

"Probably won't be an issue, Grumpy. Defiant's probably going to be spending most of his free time in therapy... not to mention school..." Anger Heart groaned.

Grumpy leapt on the subject change. "It isn't so bad. It just sucks we can't have our girlfriends in the same class."

"My girlfriend's a teacher," Anger Heart sighed. Guidance just laughed and took more to eat.

"Thanks for pulling me away, Lotsa," Defiant Heart said, sitting down on one of the chairs along the edge of the room.

"I know Grumpy didn't mean anything by it. But I didn't want him to say anything worse. You were having such a good time," Lotsa put a hand on Defiant's shoulder.

"I still am, I just need a minute to relax," Defiant said, leaning back in his chair.

"That's good! I love this time of year! We have this and the New Year's Eve countdown party. It's good family time." Lotsa gave him a smile.

"That'll be nice," Defiant smiled. "So what do you want to do now?" he asked.

Lotsa looked to the dance floor, "I wouldn't mind dancing some more."

"Sure, why not," Defiant said, getting to his feet.

Another hour or so passed before True Heart and Noble called everyone together. Those who had participated in the snowball fight were wrapped in blankets, still damp from their exploits however they all seemed to have had a good time and were smiling.

"Alright everyone. We just wanted to say Merry Christmas to you all and let you know you have the next couple of days off from school as a special holiday treat." True Heart told them.

A cheer rose up from the assembled family members and Noble Heart waited for them to calm down before he spoke. "Alright everyone we know you're excited. But I know something that will make you just as happy: it's time for us to open our presents!"

"Finally!" Playful Heart dove under the tree in pursuit of his pile of gifts.

"Hey watch it! Those are mine!" Grumpy caught his gifts as they were flung aside.

"So our presents have our names on them?" Renegade asked. Nova had come down from her sugar buzz, thankfully without any major incidents.

"Yea. Yours are over there." Fauna pointed briefly before ripping into hers again.

"Cool, so what's in here," Nova found her gift and began tearing it open. Inside she found some folded clothes inside. "Fauna enlisted me to help get you some new clothes Nova. Since you've been taking your human form a lot." Swift Heart told her.

"Thanks Swift Heart," Nova pulled a shirt out and gave it a once over.

"I figured your style was just a little more Bohemian then my own," Fauna explained while looking over the cache of movies she'd gotten.

"Umm OK," Nova said, not quite sure what Fauna meant by "Bohemian".

"Gift cards?" Bright Heart asked, opening his gift from Gentle Heart.

"I wasn't sure what to get you," Gentle explained.

Bright Heart laughed, "Yeah well, I can be a bit tough for gifts. Here," Bright Heart passed Gentle Heart a gift from himself.

Gentle opened it carefully and blushed before shutting it, "It's nice, thank you," was all she managed.

Swift Hearts jaw dropped when she opened her gift from Grumpy. "Oh my gosh! Are these real Grumpy?" She asked while holding up the diamond stud earrings.

For once Grumpy didn't have a sarcastic quip. "I figured you deserved something special." Leaping at him she kissed him so hard he fell backwards.

"He seems happy," Snowy said as he opened a shirt that Share had sewn for him. "Thanks Share."

"You're welcome," Share gave him a kiss. "Where's my gift?"

"Umm... I forgot it at my house, I'll give it to you later. Sorry Share," Snowy apologized.

"That's alright," Share reassured him, grabbing for another present with her name on it.

Jolly opened his gift from Gloria. It was a new wake board. "Ta Sheila! Jus wha OI wanted."

"It's from mom too Jolly. She helped me pick it out."

He laughed, "Well that's a coincidence; tha ol' bat helped me with yers too."

Intrigued Gloria opened her gift, "Oh wow! It's so pretty!" It was a charm bracelet. The only charm on it was a silver volleyball. "I love it!"

"Too bad Polite and Good Luck couldn't be here, I know my sister would love this," Perfect said as he picked up his gift from Tenderheart.

"Maybe we could visit them, and take them their presents." Tender Heart suggested.

"That's a great idea! No wonder I love you," Perfect threw his arms around Tenderheart and gave him a deep kiss. Blushing Tender Heart put his arms around him.

The group continued to open gifts until the floor was covered in paper and ribbon. Hugs and Tugs seemed to be content playing with the cast offs. Holding a curly ribbon up to Brave Heart, Tugs tickled his nose, making him sneeze.

"Having fun?" Noble Heart asked as he walked over to check on his twin children.

"Yeah we are. Tugs was nice enough to share his new toys," the lion replied while tickling the cub. Tugs giggled as Brave Heart tickled him. Hugs crawled over and reached up, grabbing Brave Heart's whiskers.

He winced "Easy there lil gal." Reaching over he gently pried her fingers open.

"Don't grab his whiskers," Noble Heart said as he picked up his daughter. "Hugs is very grabby so be careful around her."

"I know a way to fix that. I just take her like this," he grabbed Hugs around the middle. "And then I do this!" standing he spun in a circle, lifting Hugs above her head making her fly. Hugs shrieked happily as she flew through the air until Brave Heart set her down.

"You've got a good groove with kids, Brave Heart. You're gonna be a cool dad someday," Harmony said, coming over to watch.

"I hope so darling. I love kids." Tugs feeling neglected began to fuss and beat his arms in the air.

"Does this little cub want attention?" Harmony asked, picking up the fussing blue cub.

He waved the ribbon in her nose too. Brave Heart chuckled as Harmony made a face. "Haha. Looks like he likes you too."

Harmony sneezed, making Tugs laugh. "Well I like him too, but not the ticklin' on my nose."

Laughing brave heart said, "That's funny. I coulda sworn you like this." Shifting Hugs he rubbed his nose against Harmony's.

Harmony giggled, "Well, maybe from you." Noble Heart cleared his throat and Harmony turned, seeing Noble Heart's look she handed the horse's son back to him.

"Awww what's the matter Noble Heart. We ain't doing anything unseemly," Brave Heart said.

"I know, I'd just like to hold my son for a while," Noble Heart said.

"I can dig that." Harmony said. Tugs babbled at his father.

Noble Heart rocked his son, "He's gonna be a great kid when he grows up."

Brave Heart nodded, "Yeah he is. So will this little lady." He kissed Hugs cheek a few times making her giggle.

"I just hope they don't fight when they get older," Noble Heart said.

"Ha! Noble as the bear who understands coexistence best, I hate to tell you that all siblings fight! It's what makes them siblings. I mean think about it man, did any of us get along all the time?" Brave Heart asked.

"No, but there were dozens of you," Noble Heart said. "Besides, you can't blame a dad for dreaming."

"That's a true fact. I hope their teenage years are easy for you too." Brave Heart told him.

"Can't be much harder than yours," Noble Heart smiled at Brave Heart.

"Why Noble Heart, whatever do you mean? I thought we were all the ideal children." Harmony teased him. Some of the others nearby laughed at the comment. Noble Heart just rolled his eyes but said nothing.

Eventually the party came to a close. Renegade and Nova said their goodbyes and headed back through the portal to the falls. The rest of the family dispersed, most couples heading for the house of just one of their homes. Fauna headed off with Swift Heart and Grumpy back to Swift Heart's burrow.

Lotsa walked Defiant back to his house. "Thanks for spending most of the night with me, Lotsa."

He smiled at Defiant, "No thanks needed. I was happy to. I enjoyed myself."

"Well, maybe we can spend more time together next week at the new year's countdown. I'll be fine on my own tonight," he added as they reached Defiant's house.

"I'd like that too." Leaning over he hugged Defiant goodbye. "If you need an ear, you've got mine. And that's the truth."

"You've got plenty to go around," Defiant managed to joke. Laughing Lotsa released Defiant and headed back towards his own home.


	17. Return Arc, Part 4

Chapter 17

Aurora and White Fang were standing at the portal to the unicorn's grove. "I'll only be gone till the end of the day, Fang. I just need to go and get a health check and give my report to the elders. They want to be sure there are no harmful effects for going through the portal," Aurora said.

White Fang snorted, "Well your horn hasn't fallen off. And I haven't noticed any weird side effects. Can't they just assume everything is okay? Or better yet, come get their lazy tuchos's over here?"

"They're a lazy as your council is pushy." Aurora laughed, "I promise I won't be gone long," she nuzzled her mate. "Have fun today," she said before trotting through the portal.

"Have the igloo to myself for the first time in months? You bet I'll be having fun. Fun in peace and quiet." He grinned as he too trotted away from the portal.

"So you're going to the Kingdome of Caring today?" Renegade asked as he and Nova trotted to the Forest of Feeling's portal.

"Yep. Starting my martial arts training with Confidence today," Nova replied, grinning. "It's gonna be great and I'm sure you'll have fun on your own."

"Yeah… fun," Renegade said. Nova didn't notice the pause as she already through the portal. Renegade sighed and flew off, heading back to the arctic region. He landed to graze for a bit on the way back, munching on some moonberries and grass then took off and flew the rest of the way.

"Gonna eat some bagel, and some schmeeeeeer. Gonna have it all to myself cause there's no one here." White Fang sang as he puttered around in his guardian form. Using his claws and paws to make his breakfast he continued to sing his little song. Once the bagel was assembled he sniffed it with a happy sigh, "Alone at last." Opening his jaws he held it up to take a bite.

Finishing his bagel he licked the remains of salmon spread from his claws. "Ahhh! That hit the spot. Not as good as my old friend Reubens, but it'll do." Moving to his workroom he curled up on the plush carpet on the floor, "Now for a nap."

Renegade finally landed at the igloo and he carefully pushed his way inside. "White Fang? Aurora? Are you home?" he asked as he entered the igloo.

White Fang groaned, having just gotten comfortable, "Yes to the first, no to the second." He called out.

"Oh sorry, didn't know you had the place to yourself," Renegade apologized.

In spite of himself, White Fang smirked. His young protégé knew him better then he thought. "Aurora had to go home for some mishegos thing with her elders."

"Are they as bad as our council?" Renegade asked.

He shrugged, "I haven't seen them in 300 years. And before that I had very little involvement with them. I don't think they are though. Where's Nova at?"

"She went to start her martial arts lessons with Confidence Heart," Renegade replied.

"Ahh right that." He nodded and got to his feet, "Well was there something you needed, or were you just stopping by out of boredom?"

"Well..." Renegade took a deep breath before he spoke again, "I need some advice about Nova."

"Is she getting on your nerves? I knew it was only a matter of time. That's how all young unicorns are. They seem all exciting at first, and then you realize all the niggling little habits they have that just make you want to chew your wing off!" White Fang ranted.

Renegade gave a confused look, "What?"

Seeing he had no idea what he meant White Fang cleared his throat, "So if she's not annoying you then what sort of advice do you need?"

"Well I really like Nova and... I asked you once how to talk to girls," Renegade seemed unsure what to say but he took a deep breath and continued. "We're good friends and I can just spend time with her and not feel uncomfortable but... how do I start 'courting' her or let her know I want to be more than friends?"

White Fang's lips turned up at the corner, "Awww so cute. You getting all pheklempt over a girl. I suppose I can give you some advice. Mind you I'm no Casanova, I've only ever courted Aurora."

"What's a Casanova?" Renegade asked, narrowing one eye.

"Someone who is very good with the fillies," he told him.

"Oh. Well I don't want to be like that, I just want to know the best way to find out if Nova feels the same about me." Renegade shuffled his hooves slightly.

White Fang tapped his foot thinking things over. "Just do little things for then at first, just to let her know you care for her. Bring her flowers, do nice things for her, help her with stuff even if you don't want to."

"So just start paying more attention to her and she how she reacts. Makes sense." Renegade nodded, "I guess I should find out what kind of flowers and food she likes the most."

"Probably wouldn't hurt. Once you think you know how she feels then, as the stallion, it is your job to make the first move. Nothing too major at first, just enough to get your message across."

Renegade nodded and smiled, "Right. Thanks White Fang. I'll leave you to your alone time then," he said, retreating out of the igloo.

"One more thing." He yelled after Renegade, "Do NOT! Do the traditional pegasus mating dance! The unicorns will laugh...a lot." White Fang winced as he said it.

"Huh what's this?" Playful Heart had stopped by the bulletin board on the path from the Forest of Feelings that led in to Care-a-Lot. A new sign had been posted and he read it aloud, "Karate and other martial arts lessons starting... that's today."

"What are you reading, Playful? You'll be late for school." Funshine had doubled back after noticing her boyfriend wasn't walking with her anymore.

"Take a look, Sunshine. Confidence Heart is teaching karate starting after school today," Playful said, pointing to the sign.

"Well yeah she is. You thinking about doing it?" She asked him while reading over the flyer.

"Why not, sounds fun. What about you?" Playful turned to Funshine.

She shook her head, "No thanks. I'm not really into the whole self-defence thing. I'll just use you for that." She kissed his cheek, "Now come one. We are going to be late!" Tugging his arm she began pulling him up the path again.

Nova arrived in the Kingdom of Caring right before the end of school bell rang and she shifted to her human for before headed for the gymnasium. Confidence Heart was already there, dressed in a white robe and pants with a black cloth belt tied around her waist.

"Good thing you made it on time. Ready for the first of your lessons?" Confidence asked.

"Definitely. So can we get started?" Nova asked, hopping back and forth on her feet.

"Not yet. I decided I might as well offer my teachings to anyone who wants to learn martial arts so I put up a bulletin. But while you're waiting pick up one of those robes, they're called Gi, and put it on." Confidence directed her to a pile of white robes with white belts to the side of the mats she was standing on. Nova sighed but moved to grab a Gi and began to undress.

"Whoa not here! In the changing rooms." Confidence directed the young unicorn to the rooms to the side.

"Oh right, don't undress in public," Nova laughed before heading to the changing rooms.

Swift Heart came into the Gym as Nova was leaving. Popping her gum she waved at Confidence and deposited her backpack on the floor. "What up Confidence?"

"Martial arts classes." Confidence pointed to the changing rooms with a thumb, "Nova's changing in there." She folded her arms, "So did you come for lessons or just to exercise?"

"I came for lessons." Swift Heart told her. "With all the crap going on I figure it wouldn't hurt to learn a few new tricks. Plus, I can always use ways to get my frustrations out."

Confidence laughed, "Well you came to the right place. Pick out a gi and get changed."

"A what?" Swift Heart asked.

"One of those two piece robes, like what I'm wearing." Confidence pointed to the piles again.

Picking one up she held it up to herself, "Hmmm white. How zen. I'll be back." Grinning she headed to change as well.

"So is this where we learn martial arts?" Birthday asked, having wandered in with Playful Heart bouncing behind him.

"Yep." Confidence nodded, "Change into one of those and come back out here so we can get started."

"Alright!" Playful snatched up one that looked about his size and darted into the changing room, followed by Birthday Bear.

In The girls changing room Swift Heart quickly swapped her clothes. As she tied the belt she called, "You okay Nova?"

"I'm fine. Fauna showed me how to tie a knot," Nova replied, knotting the white belt around her waist.

"Cool." She waited for the unicorn by the door. "I hear you are pretty excited for this."

"I am. This'll be a great way to get stronger," Nova said as she approached the door, and threw a clumsy punch in the air.

Giggling, Swift Heart opened the door for them. "It certainly will be entertaining. Just make sure I'm not nearby when you practice."

Playful and Birthday emerged from their changing room, wearing the same white Gi that Swift Heart and Nova had on. "Hey Swift Heart, decided to join the class?" Playful asked.

"Nah. I just decided to where this to school today. Coincidence right?" She teased him.

"Must be," Birthday grinned.

"Alright, when you're ready come here and we can get started," Confidence said, tapping her foot on the mat with her arms still folded.

They moved over to Confidence and lined up in front of her. Swift Heart bowed to her, "We are here to be molded in your image."

Confidence laughed, "Not quite. I'm going to train you but I'm going to let you choose which martial art you want to learn."

"There's more than one?" Nova asked, her eyes wide.

"There's dozens of martial arts from all over the world and each one is different." Confidence took a fighting stance and threw a couple hard punches, "I practice Karate though I mix in gymnastics and Olympic wrestling, but blending such arts takes a lot of practise."

"So you're a black belt right? That means you're the best," Brithday said.

"Not exactly." Confidence placed a hand on her black belt, "Belts are used mostly to show progress but in reality there are only two important colors: white and black. A white belt is given to trainees like yourselves and a black belt means that I know enough to be a sensei, or a teacher. There are ten degrees of black belt that represent increasing skill but you can't gain most of them until you're much older. I'd rather not use the gradient colors since they're largely meaningless."

"As long as I can kick a board in half, I don't care what color I am!" Swift Heart informed them.

Birthday nodded in agreement. "As long as we learn something and have fun doing it I don't care either."

"Same here!" Playful called out.

"Good, then to get started we should decide what kind of martial art you want to learn. I don't know all of them but I know enough that if you tell me how you want to fight then I teach you the martial art closest to that style," Confidence said. She turned to Nova, "You said you wanted to learn the most closely with me, right Nova?"

"Yes," Nova nodded.

Confidence Heart nodded back, "Well then I'll teach you Karate. Now Swift Heart, Birthday, Playful: what kind of martial arts do you want to learn?"

"I'd prefer one with more kicks then punches. I'm really good with my legs." She patted her thighs in emphasise.

"Well then you should learn Taekwondo. It focuses heavily on kicks while using the arms for balance and defence," Confidence said.

"I guess… something with throwing... or is that more like wrestling?" Playful asked.

Confidence laughed, "Yes but that sounds more like Judo." The fennec turned to Birthday.

"I just want to learn something new and get a good workout. Plus have fun while I do it. It doesn't need to be intense," Birthday said.

"Well then you can learn Tai'chi. It's more relaxing and slower, kind of like yoga but with constant motion." Confidence indicated the pile of books that were stacked on a bench nearby, "I only practice Karate but I can show you how to do the other styles and train you, I just won't be able to use them."

"Wait, you can do them but not use them?" Nova was confused again.

"I'm a natural martial artist with enough training to show you how to do specific moves and such but I'm mainly a Karate master so in combat my muscle memory makes doing anything else difficult since I have to think too much to use moves outside of my normal style," Confidence explained.

"Makes sense to me. Long distance runners do not make good sprinters because their muscles aren't made for it. And vice versa." Swift Heart said.

Confidence nodded, "Exactly. I'll get to specifics on your styles later but there are a few general things you need to learn first: how to punch, kick and balance. Like with any exercise if you do things improperly then you could seriously injure yourself, you need to know the right way to punch and kick without hurting yourself more than your opponent and how to balance so you can stay on your feet." Confidence raised her hand up, "Forming a fist the right way is important, this..." she curled her thumb into the palm of her hand and closed her other fingers around it, "is the wrong way to make a fist. Your knuckles take the brunt of the impact, making them easier to injure, and if you strike hard enough then you could break your thumb. The right way to make a fist is like this," she pulled her thumb out and rested it alongside her now more tightly clenched fingers. "With the flat part of your fingers striking you reduce the chance if injuring yourself."

Birthday and Playful began playing with fists, feeling the difference between the two and without warning Playful punched Swifty in the arm.

"Oww!"

He grinned, "Hey you're right!" Scowling Swift Heart whacked him on the head.

Confidence sighed, "Alright don't start fighting each other yet. It's also important to know how to throw a punch." Confidence got into a wider stance, her hands as fists with the covered palms facing upwards at the sides of her waist, "Now just hurling you fist at someone often leaves you open. You need to minimize the movement in your actions to make yourself harder to hit or be counterattacked. You won't be doing things this slowly, normally, but practise like this," Confidence threw two fast punches, returning to her ready position.

"Uhh, can we see that again at normal speed?" Birthday asked.

Confidence nodded, "Of course. The general motion should be like this: as you move your fist up from your waist you twist it towards your body so your palm is facing downwards at full extension," she threw her next punch slowly, rotating her hand a half circle so it was right-side up with her arm was fully outstretched, "then bring it backwards to rest," she pulled her fist back, rotating it in the opposite direction until it was once again at the resting position by her waist. "Throw a few one at a time then try to punch with your other arm while you bring the first back to rest."

Swift heart did her best to try and do it slowly but even so she ended up going a little faster than her classmates. Playful too seemed to find the motion relatively easy. Nova picked up the pace after a couple minutes but Birthday took a while before he could do more than one punch at a time.

Confidence watched her disciples for a few minutes before clapping her hands to get their attention. "Alright looks good so far, now I need to show you how to kick properly."

"Swifty knows that already. And if you don't believe me I'm sure Defiant could support it." Playful announced, making Swift laugh.

"Oh really, what did you do?" Confidence asked, curious.

"Defiant and I had a small misunderstanding. And to inform him that I was displeased, I kicked him in the crotch," Swift heart told her.

Confidence laughed aloud, "Haha! Well knowing you I'm sure he deserved it. But you can't count on all your opponents being male. Also the way you kicked him was probably not the right way." Confidence paused and took a look at Swift Heart's long feet, "Though we may have to work on specific techniques for you since the ones I know were designed for humans."

"What about me?" Playful asked. He leaned back and raised one of his feet in the air, letting Confidence see, for the first time, that Playful had an opposable toe on each foot.

"Hmm, well... your feet look close enough to human for this," Confidence observed, giving the monkey's feet a good look to make certain.

"I trust your judgement Confidence." Swift Heart said as she looked her feet over.

"Well I'll show you how you're supposed to impact first." Confidence stepped back and lifted her foot up so she could show everyone the underside of her foot. "The two best places to make contact when kicking are the heel and the balls of your feet, here under the toes." Confidence touched the underside of her foot, right underneath the toes. "Anywhere else and you risk injury."

"Good thing my feet are so tough." Swift Heart said.

Birthday watched Swift Heart hammer her foot on the floor a few times. "What about those of us who don't have super bunny feet?" he asked.

"It should work for you the same way," Confidence explained. "Like with punching the motion of your kick needs to be more compact and direct. I'll so you how to do a Karate style kick. Bring you knee to your chest and kick, like this," Confidence drew her knee up to her chest, leaning slightly for balance, and kicked straight forwards in one swift motion. "Remember to pull your toes back or put your heel forwards."

Birthday did so and felt like he was going to fall over. "Whoa!" Taking a moment he rebalanced himself and tried again. It went better that time, making him smile.

Nova fell to her back before her first kick. "Ow!" she rubbed her backside before Confidence Heart came over to help her up.

"You need to learn how to balance, don't be afraid to use whatever limb you have to maintain balance. Usually your arms, but," Confidence waved her ears a bit, "Swift and I can use our ears and Playful can use his tail."

To emphasise Confidence's point, Playful propped himself up on his tail, "Look mom, no hands!"

"I applaud you Playful." Swift Heart clapped her ears together.

"Don't spread your arms out too much but use them to pull yourself in the opposite direction you think you'll fall," Confidence said. She stood back as she watched Nova try again, sticking her arms out and managing to make a successful kick.

"Good, now all of you keep practising those for the next few minutes, and try to keep yourselves as compact as possible," Confidence instructed.

"Shouldn't be too hard for you. Huh shorty?" Playful nudged Swift Heart.

Scowling she asked Confidence, "Are you sure we can't practice on each other yet?"

"I'm sure, I don't want you hurting each other just yet," Confidence replied.

Opting to move away from her fellow cousin to avoid temptation, Swift Heart moved closer to Nova and Birthday. She spent a little time on her punches, but mostly focused on her kicks. She liked those.

Confidence watched them with interest as she picked up a note book by her stack of books. "Since you're all learning different styles it would probably be best if I taught each of you on a different day of the week. Which days work best for each of you?"

"I'm good for any day except Tuesdays. That's when Treat Heart and I watch Cake Boss," Birthday said.

"Mondays for me," Swift Heart said.

"Alright, and you, Nova?" Confidence asked.

"Umm what's today?" Nova asked.

"It's Wednesday. You don't use calendars much back home do you?" Confidence lowered her note book.

"Well we don't have much in the way of a weekly cycle in the grove, just seasons really," Nova admitted.

"Well I'm sure Fauna can help you with that. I can teach you on Wednesdays," Confidence said, writing Swift Heart and Nova down for Mondays and Wednesdays respectively.

"So that leaves Thursdays for me." Playful said enthusiastically. Turning a cartwheel he landed on his feet and kicked out with a "Heeeya!"

"And Birthday on Fridays since you're not free Tuesdays," Confidence finished writing their names down in her notebook.

Birthday smiled at her, "Whatever works for you Confidence."

"It does. Now is there anything that any of you want to know before we move on?" Confidence Heart asked as she set her book down.

They all shook their heads. "I'm ready to learn to kick some butt." Playful commented.

"Well you should spar but you need to know how to block and dodge. Take a fighting stance." Confidence crouched slightly and lifted her arms, "You shouldn't simply stop the blows, the best way is to deflect strikes, pushing them to the side so they miss you or if you want to use more agility then roll with the punches by not resisting them, flowing into another movement. Now who wants to take a shot at me?"

Playful eagerly stepped forward, "I will. Just tell me what to do?" Shifting from foot to foot he punched his fists into the air.

"Punch me," She touched the middle of her chest, "Right here as hard as you can."

"Alright, here goes!" Playful punched hard, just as Confidence had shown him earlier. Confidence's left arm came up fast, pushing the fist up and so the blow sailed over her head

"Again!" Confidence said. This time she pushed the blow down, forcing the direction of Playful's fist towards the ground.

"You can push your opponent's blows away from your core up, down or to the sides like that. You can also use the block to move into a counterattack, but those are complex move that changes from style to style," Confidence explained.

"As long as your opponent isn't faster than you right?" Birthday questioned. "I mean what if they get to their target before you can block them."

"Well part of what we're learning to do here is to build up muscle memory so you can block!" Playful tried to attack again only for Confidence to force his kick aside with her arm causing the monkey to fall back, only stopping himself with his tail, "Block on reflex. Right there I just deflected your blow and nearly counterattacked because I've been doing this so long that I can't help it. But if you really aren't fast enough then you need to learn to roll with the punches, literally." Confidence turned to Swift Heart, "Swift Heart, can you come up here to help me show what I mean?"

She nodded and zoomed over to Confidence. "Alright let's do this."

"Alright, punch or kick me in the shoulder. I promise I won't block you," Confidence stood, her legs at shoulder width.

Resting her weight on her left foot, she tucked up her right leg and let it loose, aiming for Confidence's shoulder. As her body tilted down her ears shifted position and her braced leg stiffened to keep her from toppling.

Swift Heart lashed out with a kick, just as she had been shown, striking Confidence Heart hard in the right shoulder. Instead of blocking Confidence spun clockwise as soon as she was hit, turning a full circle and moving backwards, dropping into her fighting stance as she did.

"Rolling with the punches reduces the effect they have, trying to stop a blow like that can only hurt you more." Confidence rubbed her shoulder, "But damn, Swift, you've got strong legs."

She nodded at Confidence, "I told you so." Birthday understood now and nodded as well.

"Go ahead and practise on each other then, but don't hit too hard. I don't want you breaking anything," Confidence said.

Playful went over to Birthday, "Want to practice on each other? After hearing Swift Heart's blow hurt Confidence, I'm not so sure I want her kicking me."

Birthday chuckled, "Agreed."

Swift Heart shook her head, "Cowards."

"Then spar with me, Swift Heart," Nova offered.

"Absolutely." She moved over to Nova. "You can practice attacking me first Nova, I promise not to run."

"Good," Nova took a deep breath and punched right at Swift Heart's chest. She blocked the punch by pushing Nova's arm downward. Nova tried again, aiming higher, only for Swift Heart to push the blow high again.

Over with Playful and Birthday, Playful was working on rolling, spinning around and laughing as Birthday kept landing blows and Playful kept rolling with each one. Distracted by the monkey's laughter Swift Heart looked over to see just what he was doing and Nova managed to punch her in the chest and the force of the blow made Swift Heart step backwards, her hand going to cover the spot.

"Ow!" She scowled at Nova, "Looks like all your work's been paying off."

"Good, I was afraid I wasn't getting any stronger." Nova smiled.

"Don't let yourself get distracted, that's the worst thing you can let happen in the middle of a fight," Confidence spoke up.

"Well then tell Playful to stop having such a good time." She grumbled, bearing an eerie resemblance to her boyfriend. "Alright Nova, let's try again."

"OK!" Nova brought her knee up and kicked at Swift Heart's shoulder. This time Swift Heart practiced rolling with it. She spun with the kick and came around with her left fist to tap Nova's hip lightly.

Nova let herself get pushed to the side rather than trying to stop Swift Heart, expecting a harder hit than she received. "Not bad."

"Thanks. Your turn. I'll attack, you block." Swift Heart got ready to strike.

Swift Heart got ready to strike, deciding to take it easy at first by throwing a punch at Nova's arm which she blocked easily. After three punches Swift began to kick. Nova took two hits to the chest but managed to block the next three.

Finally, Confidence called an end to that day's lesson. "Alright that's a good first lesson for the day. I won't start the solo lessons until next week but until then try to practise what I taught you today, spar with each other if you can but what's important is that you practise enough and get used to the actions. Don't try to learn any new techniques on your own, that can only cause problems. Alright so go ahead and do whatever you planned on doing for the rest of the day then."

Birthday and playful heart bowed to Confidence. "You are a great teacher. Thank you for this." The orange bear said.

Confidence bowed back, "You're welcome."

Swift Heart was already gone into the changing room. She came back barely a second later. "Yea thanks Confidence. See you later." Grabbing her backpack she smiled at the others and exited.

"Can I keep these clothes?" Nova asked.

"Sure, just bring them back each week," Confidence replied as she moved to change into her more casual clothes. The boys too changed quickly and left, talking about having a martial arts movie marathon.

Back in the falls, Renegade was waiting at the Kingdom of Caring portal as Nova returned. "So, did you have fun at your lessons today?" he asked, smiling.

She nodded, panting slightly from hurrying back. "It was great! We didn't do much but I managed to throw a punch that Swift Heart felt! All my work is paying off!"

"That's great." Renegade smiled. "So are you hungry?"

She nodded, "Yea I think I definitely worked up an appetite!"

"So what would you like to eat?"

Nova thought it over, "Hmmm can we go find some of those berries that are a little tangy? We have nothing like those at home."

"Sure, I think I know the ones you mean." Renegade spread his wings, "Follow me, I know where we can find some."

"Awesome!" As they walked she told Renegade all about the first lesson.

"Sounds like you had fun," Renegade said.

"When I get really good I can even teach you." She took a handful of the berries and shoved them in her mouth. "What have you been doing all day?"

"Not a lot really," Renegade admitted. "I'm happy to see you back." Renegade took a mouthful of the berries in his mouth and chewed on them, "What are these called again... janberries." The name finally came to his mind.

She shrugged, "Whatever they are called I love them!" Realizing what he said she rolled her eyes "Renegade I was only gone a few hours you goof. You couldn't have missed me all that much."

"Not much to do today," Renegade said. "Fauna's busy, I can't find Frosty, Red Snout or Thunder and Aurora left for the day so White Fang's having a day alone to relax."

She offered him a berry from her hand. "Well I'm sure we can find something for us to do."

Renegade took the janberry. After swallowing it he asked, "Should I go to change form?"

"I bet we could have more fun if you did. Oh! I know!" Eyes shining she pointed at The Onyx Mountains, "let's climb and hike that! I bet we could watch the stars come out after sunset from up there."

"Hiking?" Renegade said as he shifted to his human form, "And we could watch the stars. Sure it sounds like fun."

Nova shoved him lightly, "Yes hiking! I've never been hiking and I really want to!" Taking his hand she headed for the mountains.

White Fang's relaxation was interrupted by the sound of someone entering his igloo. "Fang, I'm home." Aurora said as she entered.

He came from the back room and nudged her "Welcome back. Glad they didn't make you stay or something ridiculous like that."

"They couldn't, there are no harmful effects from the portal." Aurora nuzzled her mate, "as if there would be."

"Not a portal I've had anything to did with." He said cockily. "Glad to hear all is well."

"Better than well." Aurora smiled.

He looked at her sideways, "Well please enlighten me. Because I'm still only on the 'well' level. "

"No use in beating around the bush, Fang. I'm pregnant. We're going to be parents." Aurora snuggled into White Fang's side.

He took a step away from her, shaking his head, "I'm sorry, my ears seem to be all messed up from that facocta experiment of mine. Did you say pregnant?"

Aurora had expected this reaction so she retained her composure, "Yes I did. I didn't believe it at first either but the healer confirmed it."

"But...I'm old. Really old. How is this possible?" Poor White Fang had long ago resigned himself to growing old alone, without children or a mate of his own. This just seemed so outside the realm of possibility to him.

Aurora laughed, "I'm just as old as you are and it seems that it hardly matters." Aurora moved closer, "I know it's yours. You're the only mate I've ever had and I can't imagine anyone else I'd like to be the father of my child."

Gulping White Fang nodded, "You're right. It's just shocking. I mean I didn't even think before we...bah! Listen to me sounding like a whiney newlywed." Smiling he nuzzled Aurora, "If you're happy I'm happy."

Aurora was still smiling as she nuzzled him back, "Good. I didn't even think it was possible. Our child will be the first Unicorn/Pegasus crossbreed in the universe, in about 11 months."

Merging the two together he blanched, frowning. "It'll be a Pegacorn. Oy if Wind Rider was still alive I'd never hear the end of this."

"Why do you say that, Fang?" Aurora asked.

"Just the name. It would tickle him pink to hear such a meshugana thing. I mean really sweetling, from two such noble names as ours, we get that?"

Aurora giggled like a filly, "Oh my, I suppose that is an odd name. But speaking of names do you have any idea what we should call it?"

He threw up his wings in exasperation, "Aurora my love, I just found out I'm to be a father. I think I'm going to need a little more time to think of a name."

Aurora blushed slightly, "Sorry, I'm just so happy I got ahead of myself, I had a long day. What did you do while I was away?"

Getting himself composed once more he chuckled and gave a small shake of his head, "Luckily I used my day wisely and relaxed. It seems that won't be happening again for a very long time," he joked.

"I wouldn't go that far, it's going to be a while before any symptoms set in." Aurora nudged him gently, "Perhaps we can just lie down for the night, or did you want to go out and do something to celebrate the good news?"

"After that nose, lying down sounds excellent." Blowing out a breath he headed for their nest. "A foal. We are having a foal," He told himself once more.

"Yes we are. I wonder what a Pegacorn will look like," Aurora wondered aloud as she and White Fang lay down in their nest.

"I'd imagine like us. If no traits prove to be more dominant than another, it will have a horn and a set of wings." Something dawned on him, "And probably quite a gifted magic user."

"Probably, but it probably won't have a horn when it's born," Aurora said. "I wonder what Nova and Renegade will think."

"No idea. I'm still worried about how I'm thinking," White Fang stated.

"I'm not." Aurora gave him a gently lick and nuzzle across his snout, "I know it's a big shock but you'll sort it out in your own time."

"As long as I have you, I'm not worried. You are all the clarity I need. I will come to terms with it in time."


	18. Return Arc, Part 5

Chapter 18

"You're making better progress than I thought, Defiant Heart," Take Care noted as he wrote his observations in his notebook.

"Thanks, but still I can't get that thought out of my head, being crushed by that thing, seeing my body…" Defiant shuddered.

"I know it's difficult, but at least you're talking about it," Take Care said. "How do you feel about Guidance Heart taking over your teaching job?"

"Alright I guess. I wish I could be teaching right now but she let me watch her class once and she's doing a good job." Defiant managed a smile.

"And is there anything else that's bothering you lately?" Take Care asked.

"Well…" Defiant was twiddling his thumbs and shuffling in his seat. Take Care gave the badger time to compose himself and finally Defiant spoke again. "I'm not sure who I like anymore."

"Who you like?" Take Care asked.

"I mean if I like boys or girls as more than friends," Defiant explained.

"So you're having difficulty with your sexuality then," Take Care surmised.

Defiant nodded, "Yeah, that's it. I had a thing with Terra Heart for a while but after the whole opposites thing the adrenaline wore off and we realized we had nothing really in common. Lately I'm sorta feeling something for Lotsa Heart."

"It's possible that you don't have a specific preference, you could be bisexual," Take Care said.

"Maybe… but what should I do?" Defiant sat up to look more directly at Take Care.

"Well… maybe spend more time with Lotsa. You had fun at the dance and Love-a-Lot said she could feel 'a connection' or something between you two." Take Care set his notes down.

"Like a date?" Defiant asked.

"It doesn't have to be. You can just hang out as friends before you're ready to commit, just have a meal together or something simple." Take Care stood up, "Well our session is over for the day, maybe go and see Lotsa Heart. It could help."

"Thanks Take Care, I think I will," Defiant said. He got up and shook the doctor's hand before heading out of the office.

"It doesn't have to be a date just a friendly meal. It doesn't have to be a date just a friendly meal," Defiant kept repeating to himself as he approached Lotsa Heart's house. Taking a deep breath he knocked on the door, waiting to see if Lotsa would answer.

Lotsa answered it, smiling upon seeing Defiant. "Hey there! I thought you were busy this morning?"

"Just a therapy session and I finished," Defiant said. "So what are you doing today?"

"I was going to go for a walk by the Rainbow River to get some exercise. It's a good day for one," he told him. "Want to come?"

"Sure, I'd like that." Defiant smiled.

Lotsa pulled his door closed and the two of them set off towards the river. "Did you have a good session today?" Lotsa asked.

"As good as can be expected," Defiant replied. "Take Care says I'm making better progress than he expected, all things considered."

"Well I could have told you that!" He said with a chuckle. "You've been so much more smiley the last couple of days."

"Yeah well that might be for reasons other than therapy," Defiant said as they finally reached the edge of the Rainbow River.

Looking around Lotsa sighed happily, "Whatever it is I'm glad it's working and that's the truth." Looking at the two trail options he pointed, "That one goes to the water fall and that one to Care-a-Lot. Which one do you want to take?"

"How about the waterfall. I haven't been there in a while," Defiant said.

"Okey dokey." They resumed walking down the path. "I've been missing having you for class. Guidance is nice and all, but I liked what you had to say better."

"Yeah well I'm not really ready for it. Why, what's Guidance doing differently?" Defiant asked.

"Oh it's nothing too noticeable. I just feel like she's a little more accommodating then you were. If we are having trouble, she slows everything down. You kept going and it challenged us. I liked it. Because then when I got it I felt awesome." Lotsa smiled.

"Thanks, Lotsa. But I guess that's just a different approach between teachers," Defiant said. "Some probably appreciate her slowing things down for them."

They finally arrived at the falls and Defiant looked up at the water cascading down from the cliff above. "This place is nice."

The multi-colored water fell into the pool below before flowing away to form the river. Stepping stones stretched from bank to bank, allowing hikers a way to cross. The cousins had also set a bench there years ago and that's where Lotsa sat. "I like it here. It's a good thinking spot."

Defiant sat next to the elephant, "Yeah it is. Though I try not to think too much these days."

"Bad thoughts? Other than the, ummm, incident I mean," Lotsa inquired.

"My thoughts just keep leading me back there whenever I think too long. It's taken me this long to just talk about it out loud." Defiant sighed, "I'm trying to get over it but it takes time."

Lotsa nodded, "No one expects you to heal overnight." He placed a hand on Defiant's shoulder. "It'll just take practice, avoiding the bad thoughts I mean."

Defiant Heart smiled, "Well I'm trying to replace them with better thoughts. Like from the Christmas party."

"There you go! Yeah that was a lot of fun. I got some really great gifts. And the dancing was a blast," Lotsa said.

"The dancing was the part I liked the most," Defiant took Lotsa's hand.

The elephant blushed making his cheeks turn an even darker pink, "Awww shucks."

"I mean it. You helped me out there and I had a lot of fun. And you said... maybe you might like me," Defiant blushed too.

Lotsa nodded, "Yeah. And I meant it." He looked at their hands. "This is all new to me. I'm not really sure how these things go. You know?"

"Me either, but we can find out or ask Tenderheart and Perfect," Defiant suggested.

"That's a good idea." Looking back over the water he saw some of the fish leaping out of the water, mutli-colored scales flashing. "So then you are alright with slow and steady for now? Itss kinda my specialty," he teased.

"I can't go any faster for a while anyway," Defiant replied, still smiling. "But yeah that's fine. Want to get something to eat later?" he asked.

"Sure. I'm always up for some food. You up for an earth trip you think?" Lotsa asked.

Defiant nodded, "Sure. Do you have a place in mind?"

Lotsa nodded, grinning. "There's a place where you make your own pizza. They give you dough all rolled out and then you load it up with whatever sauce, cheese, and toppings you want."

Defiant Heart couldn't help his stomach growling as Lotsa described it. "Can we go now then, I'm kinda hungry."

Without responding, Lotsa's tummy symbol began to glow and a cloud car emerged. "Hop in. I'll drive."

"Great!" Defiant hopped into the passenger seat and buckled in as Lotsa took the wheel and they drove off.

On Earth, in a small town in New Mexico, an archeologist surveyed the chaos before him. The townspeople shouted at several men in orange hard hats. These men ignored them for the most part as they looked over large pieces of paper. He watched from afar, wanting to intervene but not knowing how. All these people wanted was to protect their ruins. These corporate puppets wanted to turn them into a strip mall. So far now Trez waited, and watched.

"Are you sure we should be handling a riot like this?" Friend Bear asked as she, Secret, Calm Heart, Terra Heart and Brave Heart flew down towards New Mexico.

"We're supposed to be handling larger subjects now. I know we're supposed to help children to give the future a better chance but Noble Heart thinks we should be doing more to make an impact in the world as it is today," Brave Heart explained.

Secret whispered to her girlfriend. Friend nodded, "Yea I agree. I think we should have brought more of us too."

"We don't want to look like an invading army," Calm Heart said. "If the situations merits then we'll call for backup."

"I don't care how many of us there are, I just can't wait until we're on the ground again." Terra Heart was, as usual, holding tight to the edges of the cloud car as it flew down towards Earth.

Reaching over Secret patted her hand in silent support. Friend looked to the ground, "That's the place, near the construction zone. Wow! Look at those Aztec ruins!"

"Quite impressive," Calm Heart smiled.

"I'll let you know when I can feel it," Terra Heart said.

"You should soon. We're coming in for a landing!" Brave Heart called out as he moved to an empty area and set down.

As soon as she felt the wheels stop Terra Heart leapt out and seemed to hug the ground. "Finally, solid earth again!" she declared, picking up two large claws full of dirt and letting it run through her fingers.

"I think she likes being dirty." Friend said with a giggle in response to Secret's question. Looking to Brave Heart she asked, "How should we approach this?"

"Ask around and find out why this is happening. See what the citizens want and why the riot is taking place," Brave Heart said.

"Then the best place to start is the one leading the riot. They should be able to tell us what's going on," Calm Heart stated. She stomped the ground once, sending a bulge of earth under Terra Heart who was still in the dirt. "You can enjoy yourself when our task is finished, Terra," she added.

"Alright, I'm ready." Terra Heart stood up from where she was been knocked down and carefully followed after the group as they headed for the riot.

A loud woman with the locals drew their attention. "You all have no hearts! Tearing down this piece of our heritage! And for what? Another coffee joint and some silly clothing stores!" She hollered at the construction crew.

The Care Bears earned a number of stares from the rioters as they approached. Friend cleared her throat before she spoke, "Hi. We heard there was a problem here and we'd like to help."

The woman looked skeptical, "The only thing that can be done to fix things is to prevent those men from tearing down and rolling over these Aztec ruins." She pointed to the dilapidated stone structures behind her.

"A difficult task," Calm Heart said.

"Do you know who sold the rights to this land to them or did they just come in and start planning without notice?" Brave Heart asked.

Her face fell, "Since these aren't the big tourist catchers The National Park Service never purchased the land. So it's always been up for grabs. But everyone who grew up here loves these ruins. We all played in them as children and we tried raising the money ourselves but..." she shrugged.

"Then perhaps we should talk to this National Park Service, or try to find someone who can prop up any historical value these ruins might have," Calm Heart suggested.

"I've been trying," she told Calm Heart. "I've petitioned them over and over and they tell me that it will take at least 3 years for all the paperwork to go through the proper committees.

"Well have you looked into people checking the ruins for historical value?" Friend asked. Secret was looking the crowd over and noticed someone standing apart from the rest, in more ways than one. She snapped trying to get her friends attention, pointing at the dark red echidna cousin standing off by himself.

"What's that?" Friend was the first to notice Secret's frantic waving, "Looks like a Care Bear cousin."

"Where? There's so many people I can't tell where anything is, it's all blurry," Terra Heart had been holding on to Calm Heart the whole time, the sound and constant feel of feet through the ground effectively blinding her good senses.

The woman looked over for herself, "Oh him? He's been here about a week now. He doesn't say much but I've seen him around these ruins. Our police department ran him to make sure he wasn't up to malicious things, you know. It turns out he has a PhD in archeology and has participated on a bunch of high profile digs. His name is Trez."

"Well we should go talk to him then," Brave Heart said. "If anyone knows enough to help us save those ruins it's him." They began making their way through the crowd towards the echidna identified as Trez.

As Trez saw the group moving towards him he took a step back, as if he was deciding whether he should run or stay. Friend threw up a hand, "Wait! We just want to talk to you honest." He didn't say anything in reply, just continued to look them over.

"Is he here?" Terra Heart asked, trying to sniff the air, "I can smell something not human but that's all."

"We're here," Calm Heart said. "Are you Trez?" she asked, once she was close enough to speak without shouting.

He nodded to her.

"We hear you have been looking through the ruins. I'm sure you are aware of the situation here." Friend said, gesturing to the crowd. Again Trez nodded.

"Ain't much of a talker, are ya?" Brave Heart asked.

Trez shrugged, "Neva really 'ave much ta say."

"What's Archeology?" Terra Heart finally asked, now that she knew where Trez was.

"Study of ancient cultures, artifacts, civilizations," Trez told her. He pointed to the ruins. "Those things."

Friend cleared her throat, "Ummm Terra is blind. She doesn't know what you are pointing at."

For the moles benefit he said, "Loike Aztec ruins."

"True Heart taught me about them, an old civilization that fell centuries ago. But what do you do in archeology?" Terra asked.

"Travel. Dig up stuff an wroite papers on wha' OI foind." He resettled the bag on his shoulder, "Consult on otha digs."

"So you spend a lot of time digging?" Terra sounded interested.

"That is one of the important parts of that field," Calm Heart said before turning back to Trez. "Do you know of anything that can be done to save these ruins?"

Opening his bag, Trez pulled out some stone relics. One of which was a gold plated statue. "It's an Aztec temple, tha lowa levels, er full o' stuff. Important stuff." He told them.

Friend looked excited, "So if we show these to somebody they won't be able to demolish it?" Trez nodded.

Secret whispered something to Friend, "Why didn't you give this to somebody sooner?" She translated.

"Jus found 'em."

"You're not good with people either," Terra guessed.

"Not really," Trez admitted.

"Well we're good with people we can help you with this. Just tell us who we need to show them too and we can take care of the rest," Brave Heart spoke up.

Trez pointed to a large building in the center of the town, "Tell tha mayor ta call tha NPS. Send 'em pics of these and tell 'em where they were foun'."

"Do you have pictures?" Calm Heart asked.

Secret giggled and produced a camera from her tummy symbol. She held it up to her eye waiting for Trez to hold up the artifacts so she could take pictures of them.

"We need to teach more about your tummy symbol, Calm Heart," Brave Heart said.

Trez's eyes had widened in surprise at the use of the stare but held up the artifacts all the same. As Secret clicked the picture he handed them to Brave Heart. "Oi don' need 'em."

"We can talk about that later," Brave Heart said, "for now we should get this pictures over to the mayor." Secret nodded as the pictures printed out of the instant camera.

"You should probably come too. None of us know enough to explain the significance of these artifacts to the mayor, or how to prove these artifacts are genuine," Calm Heart suggested.

Looking uncomfortable with the idea, Trez rubbed the back of his neck. "K." He led the way into town.

Terra Heart breathed a sigh of relief and let go of Calm Heart once they were away from the crowd. "Finally, that noise was starting to make me crazy." A chuckle came from Trez. Apparently he agreed. Secret watched him with interest. It wasn't often she met someone as quiet as herself.

"So where do you come from, Trez?" Friend Bear asked.

"Your accent, at least what I can hear, reminds me of Jolly Heart," Calm Heart noted.

"He from Australia?" Trez asked her. Calm Heart nodded. "Makes sense then. So am OI."

"So how did you get into archeology?" Terra Heart asked, moving closer to Trez.

"Olways loiked digging. In moi nature afta oll. Realized OI loiked foinding things too so OI foun a career where OI got to do both." Trez told her. Looking at the other Care Bears he asked, "Been with these blokes long?"

"Not too long. I was living in a hole for years before they found me. I don't mind living with them but..." Terra pointed a digging claw upwards, "we live in a city floating on the clouds and it's unnerving knowing there's a drop I can't see and sometimes can't feel around, clouds don't carry vibrations very well so I mostly stayed on the roads and in the forest up there."

Trez's red dreadlocked spines lifted slightly and he shook his head. "Can't blame you sheila. Sounds downroit agro."

"It can be at times. Tell me more about your job though, it sounds fun and right up my alley too except... are dig sites quiet?" Terra asked Trez.

He nodded. "Very."

"I'd imagine it's only you and whoever else is on the team digging. Plus everyone is very focused so I don't think a lot of talking happens." Trez nodded to Friend, letting her know she was correct.

"Well are we at the mayor's office yet?" Brave Heart interjected.

Frowning at Brave Heart's impatience he opened the door to city hall. The secretary directed them to the mayor's office after hearing why they were there.

"That bloke olways like that?" Trez asked.

"Always," Terra Heart nodded.

"No one loike that on tha digs. Jus' sayin." Trez told her. As they entered the mayor's office he rose from behind his desk.

"I hear you may have found something to preserve our ruins on the edge of town?" He held his hand out to Brave Heart in greeting.

"Yes we might have, it's nice to meet you," Brave Heart said, shaking the mayor's hand and smiling politely.

Friend held up the photographs and pointed to Trez, "He found these artifacts in the ruins. They are important relics and the ruins are in fact a temple. This should be enough for you to ask the NPS to protect the ruins." She didn't mind speaking for Trez, she was used to it with Secret.

"I see." The mayor took the pictures and looked them over, "I can use these to stall the demolition until and inspector gets here, but they will need to see the actual artifacts for proof."

Brave Heart held them out to the Mayor, "We got them too. Is there anything we can do to help things move along better?" He asked the man.

"Not unless you can fly the inspector here faster," the mayor replied. "I'll need to call the foreman at the site to stop the construction then I can call the NPS." He picked up his phone and began to dial.

"Hello this is Brad. What can I do for you Mr. Mayor?" The foreman asked through the phone.

"Brad, you're going to have to delay the demolition of the ruins. I have evidence that there might be artifacts on the site you're using. I'm going to call an NPS inspector and get them to check the artifacts for authenticity," the Mayor spoke through the phone.

Brad sighed heavily on the other end, "Mr. Mayor, my bosses will not be pleased to hear this. Are you sure that what you have is worth these delays?"

"Yes I am," the mayor said. "I'll try to get the inspection done as soon as possible."

Secret whispered something in Friend's ear and Friend nodded before turning to the other Care Bears. "Do you think we could give the inspector a lift here at all?" she asked.

"Of course we can!" Brave Heart declared pounding his chest.

As the mayor hung up, he asked, "Mr. Mayor, where is the inspector? We can get him here in half the time it would normally take him."

The Mayor wrote down a city name. "I'll call and let him know you are on the way."

"I'll go with Brave Heart. I'm not sure if the inspector will be open to our presence there, unless he knows Trez..." she paused and turned to the echidna. "Trez sounds a bit short, is it your full name?"

"Yer gonna think OI'm bloody yokle." He told them

"Have you heard our names?" Terra Heart asked, "I don't think you'll sound out of place with us."

"Not that Sheila. Only toime OI evah heard moi full name was when a Star tol' me it. He spoke ta me in a dream." Trez replied.

"That would be the Great Wishing Star. He gave most of us our names," Brave Heart said.

"Well if that's a fact, moi name is Treasure Hunt mates."

"It's nice to meet you Treasure Hunt," Terra Heart carefully extending a hand towards where she felt the Echidna standing.

"Strange it's not Treasure Heart, but as long as you like it," Brave Heart said.

"Well then, we should get moving," Calm Heart spoke up, "the sooner we do this the better, that riot out there might get out of control."

"Do you think there's a chance there could be violence?" Friend asked, concerned.

"Not if we do everything by the book." The Mayor told her kindly.

Trez had gripped Terra's hand, giving it a shake. "Loike woise love." To Brave Heart he said, "No idea woi mate. Betta ask the star that. OI don't 'ave oll tha pieces ta this game. Get me?"

"I get ya," Brave Heart said. "Let's head out then." They turned and headed out, waiting a moment for Trez to take his artifacts back for safekeeping. Replacing them in his satchel he followed the group outside.

Brave Heart conjured a cloud car, "Alright, Calm and I will head to the NPS' address and get the inspector here. You stay here and make sure nothing escalates while we're gone."

"Don't worry Brave Heart. We got this." Friend assured him. Secret gave a thumb's up too.

"Good." Calm Heart nodded before jumping in and flying off with Brave Heart.

"Bloimey, there somethin' you don't see everyday," Trez commented, watching the car made of clouds driving through the sky.

"We can help you do the same thing when this is all over," Friend offered.

Looking at her Trez shook his head, "Don need a cloud car in wha' OI do."

"So am I supposed to throw this dough up in the air?" Defiant Heart asked Lotsa as they stood in the "Make your own pizza" place Lotsa had taken him to.

"No, they already did that." Lotsa took one of the plates that had the dough spread out on it. "We only need to put on it what we want then give it to them to cook."

"So put sauce, stuff then cheese on it. Does it matter what kind?" Defiant asked, reaching for a can of sauce.

"Nope. Whatever you want." Lotsa said while mixing three sauces together himself, and moving onto cheese.

Defiant began spreading the sauce on his dough. Once he was done he reached for pepperoni slices and began spreading them on his pizza. Lotsa was putting all sorts of things on his pizza, making sure no inch of dough was left uncovered.

"I'm not really picky when it comes to food." He informed Defiant.

"I can see that," Defiant smiled and began adding mushrooms to his pizza.

"Is there any kind of food you don't like?" Having finished loading up his pizza he handed it off to the man operating the oven. In return he got a number for his order.

"Nothing I've encountered yet," Defiant replied as he began spreading cheese on his pizza.

"Awesome! That means lots of date...er...I mean dining options for us in the future." Lotsa stumbled over his words but smiled.

"Just no instant noodles or anything instant and cheap. That's all I ate in that... other life," Defiant said, finishing with his cheese, which was layered twice as thick as what Lotsa had put on his pizza.

"No ramen. Ever!" Lotsa promised while making a show of crossing his heart and holding up his hand in an oath.

"Thanks, Lotsa. So how long do we cook these for?" Defiant asked.

He looked to the guy running the ovens, "Usually takes about 15 minutes or so. Depends on the number of toppings." He told Defiant. "Come on. We sit down and they bring them to our table when they are done, that's what the numbers are for."

"Right. I guess I should get washed off," Defiant said, heading to the washroom.

Lotsa moved to a table and sat down. Soon someone came to drop off water glasses. "If you'd like something else to drink just let me know."

"Water is fine for me now thank you," he told her with a smile. Smiling the waitress moved off.

Defiant returned a minute later, the fur on his hands still damp as he took a seat. "I hope it doesn't take too long. Do you come here a lot, Lotsa?" he asked.

He shrugged, "Often enough. Usually it was with Good Luck after we went roller blading. But that hasn't happened since he moved down to the valley."

"Well we can come here more often from now on if you want," Defiant said. "Just let me see how the food tastes first."

"Well if it tastes bad you have no one to blame but yourself! Since you chose what to put on it," Lotsa told him teasingly.

"What about the quality of ingredients or overcooking?" Defiant asked.

"I was just teasing Defiant. And besides do you really think I would go to a place I had bad food over and over again?" Lotsa asked.

Defiant sighed, "Probably not. Sorry Lotsa I'm still not thinking straight a lot of the time."

Lotsa patted his arm. "We'll get you there. I just don't want you turning into an old fuddy-duddy like Tender Heart. "

"Well he and Perfect seen to be happy at least," Defiant said.

He nodded, "They're really good together. Both of them have a particular way they like things done."

"I'll try not to be demanding if I can," Defiant promised. He sniffed the air, "I think our food's done.

Sure enough the waitress was returning bearing to steaming pizzas. Lotsa licked his lips as his was set down in front of him. "Enjoy fellas."

"Thanks, we will," Defiant said, taking a slice of his pizza and biting into it. "Tasty," he said, around his mouthful.

"I told you you'd be okay." Taking a bite of his own pizza Lotsa Heart's eyes widened and he dropped the slice. "Whoooo hot!" he fanned his tongue. Defiant pushed Lotsa's water closer to the elephant, prompting him to take a drink.

Taking a glass he chugged about half putting out the burning sensation on his tongue. "I should probably let that cool for a second," he said with a chuckle.

Defiant laughed too, "Yeah that would probably be the smart thing to do." Lotsa stuck his abused tongue out at the Badger in response.

"How long until Calm Heart and Brave Heart get back with the inspector?" Friend was practically dancing in place, "I don't know how much longer we can keep an eye on things."

"Panicking won't do you any good," Terra Heart pointed out. Trez nodded. They were standing near a building with a good view of the problem area. One construction man appeared to be threatening to run the protesters over if they didn't move.

"So if this works, what are you going to do Trez?" Terra asked.

He looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Go on anotha dig. Wha'else would OI do?"

"I mean will you keep digging in these ruins or go somewhere else?" Terra asked.

He shook his head, "No. OI'll be gone as soon as OI can."

"I see," Terra nodded.

"There they are, Secret found them!" Friend shouted to get their attention. Secret was jumping up and down and pointing frantically at the approaching cloud car she'd spotted.

Brave Heart pointed the car down to the ground, making the man in the backseat grab onto the car walls. As it touched down he hurriedly, and not so gracefully, jumped out, "Well that was ummm interesting."

"Perhaps it would have been better if I had driven," Calm Heart said as she and Brave Heart stepped out.

Brave Heart chuckled and waved her off, "No way. I always drive. And I got us here much faster than you woulda." Trez was beckoning the inspector to follow him to the ruins.

"Well all we can do is hope that this works. Are there any problems here?" Calm Heart asked.

Friend shook her head, "Nothing too major. Tempers are getting a little flared so the sooner he finishes his inspection, the better."

"It shouldn't take too long, I hope," Calm Heart turned to watch the inspector leaving with Treasure Hunt.

The Inspector briefly told the foreman Brad why he was there and reluctantly the man let him in. From there Trez was in charge and briskly led the man into the bowels of the ruins. There they disappeared from sight and the crowd hushed.

A few minutes passed and Terra Heart was on all fours, trying to feel vibrations but shook her head, "They're too far away."

"I hope nothing happened," Friend Bear said.

"I'm sure Treasure Hunt can handle it. He seems to be quite adept at these sort of things," Brave Heart said.

"You're right, we just need to wait." Calm Heart nodded.

Half an hour went by and the crew once more began to get twitchy. Brad was about to go in with some of the men when the inspector and Trez returned. The Inspector was holding an urn, and starring at it as if it was talking to him. Seeing Brad he said, "This site is officially under the protection of the National Park Service and will be excavated and preserved immediately!"

The angry shouts from the construction crew were positively drowned out by the cheering protesters, along with Friend and Secret, making one of her rare noises.

"Well this seems to be sorted out quite well," Calm Heart said.

Trez left the inspector to handle all the necessary paperwork as he rejoined the Care Bears. "Noice an, quiet loike. Dosen't take much sometoimes."

"That's great so the ruins will be safe." Terra Heart smiled.

"Well now that that's over, would you like to come with us, Treasure Hunt Echidna?" Brave Heart asked.

"No Mate. MOI loife is the bee's knees, an OI'm in no hurry ta change it," Trez told him.

Brave Heart was about to protest when Calm Heart stopped him, "You can't force him, Brave Heart. Can we offer you a tummy symbol at least, it could prove useful just in case you're ever in trouble," Calm Heart offered Trez.

His nose scrunched up, "It won't show through moi clothes will it?"

"Not unless you want it to," Calm Heart said.

"Roit. OI suppose OI can 'andle that," Trez replied.

"Then lift up your shirt for a minute, or it will show up on your clothes," Brave Heart said, his tummy symbol starting to glow.

"It won't hurt, I promise," Terra Heart said.

Hesitantly he pulled up his t-shirt and pulled the sides of his vest away. Brave Heart's symbol fired a white beam which struck Trez in the stomach. The light shifted and morphed, turning into specific shapes. A pile of gold coins took shape, with a few gem toned hearts scattered in it. Above it all floated a black question mark. As Brave Heart's stare faded he looked down at his abdomen. "Not as awful as OI thought it'd be."

"I'm happy you like it. I can barely use my own," Terra Heart ran her claws over her tummy symbol, a heart made of brown earth.

"Well we should get going then and give our report to Noble and True Heart," Brave Heart said.

"If it's alright, then I'd like to stay down here," Terra Heart said.

Friend and Secret looked at each other, having one of their private conversations. Secret nodded and Friend turned to Terra, "If you think it would make you happy then that's what you should do."

"Don't tell me you're in love with Treasure Hunt," Brave Heart said, staring at the mole.

Terra burst out laughing, "Hardly, hahaha! I..." Terra took a deep breath to calm down before continuing, "I barely know him but I do think I could fall in love with archeology. I'd get to spent time digging for buried objects and with my tremoresenses I could find things easily and I don't even need tools." She held up her digging claws in emphasis.

Trez snickered "OI'd be happy to teach you the tricks of moi trade." Turning to her friends he said, "No worries mates. She'll be apples with me."

"That I will and I can help you underground. So where do we head next?" she asked.

"Eva been ta Egypt love?" He asked her while smiling.

Terra shook her head, "Nope never."

"Well it looks like they're getting into this, we should head home," Friend Bear said, moving to the cloud car they still had nearby.

"Ta mates. Fer yer help." Trez called after them. As they turned to look at him he tipped his fedora.

"Hope to be with you again sometime," Terra called as they drove off. "Keeping contact is going to be hard," she admitted.

Trez didn't seem worried. "No worries sheila. You won't miss 'em o'll that much."

"Actually I will, but I won't miss being out of contact with the ground," Terra said. "So can we get some food, I'm hungry." Nodding he took her hand to lead her into town, towards some food trucks.


	19. Return Arc, Part 6

Chapter 19

"So you're going to have a foal then?" Nova asked, looking back and forth from Aurora to White Fang.

"Yes we are," Aurora replied, nuzzling White Fang and smiling.

"I didn't think that was possible, I mean different species and such," Renegade admitted.

"Believe me bubelah, you weren't the only one." White Fang responded, putting a wing over Aurora. "And I'll admit I had reservations about being a father at my age, but I've come to terms with that." He smiled at his mate

"Well I'm happy for you then, congratulations Aurora," Nova smiled.

"This doesn't mean we're going to slack off on your training though," Aurora added, "I'm not quite disabled."

White Fang fixed Renegade with a look, "And I am not disabled at all. So expect to be working twice as hard to make up for all the down time you've had lately."

Renegade couldn't suppress a gulp, "Right. So what do we start with today?" he asked.

Elsewhere in the Falls Red Snout was just meeting up with his gang mates. He had been spending the last few weeks with Fauna and they had expressed their dislike quite vocally and stupidly where she could hear them. To diffuse the situation Red had promised to meet up with them again soon.

The gang's leader smiled as Red Snout came to the lagoon. "Managed to stop sighing over your undead girlfriend long enough to make an appearance."

"Shut up Grindal! I don't have to apologize to you," Red Snout snapped.

He laughed, "There's that fiery Red Snout we've come to expect. So for today we figured we'd pay a visit to one of the nursery meadows. See if we could scare up some youngsters."

Red Snout rolled his eyes. "Sure why not? That shouldn't be too hard, scaring babies."

The other gang members snickered and headed out of their lagoon, biting and kicking at each other. This behavior stopped however when they saw Fauna in her true form, scowling at them, more specifically at Red Snout.

"I thought this was done?" she asked him.

"I'm allowed to have friends other then you," Red Snout retorted.

"Oh sure. But not these block heads."

Grindal moved to stand next to Red, "Ouch Fauna. That's not very nice."

"I'm not talking to you Grindal, so do us all a favor and shut up." She could see him puffing up at her words. "I heard your little plan for today, trying to scare young kids. Wow, dream big." Fauna stood before him, "This cannot be what you want. Tell me you will be happy being a bully for the rest of your life, and I will walk away right now." She saw Red Snout glance sideways quickly, meaning he was unsure, and she felt triumphant.

That was short lived however a Grindal shoved her aside, "Red is perfectly fine with us. After all when you pulled that little charade of yours we were all he had. We helped poor Red Snout through such a hard time by giving him something to focus on."

Fauna lunged at the alpha, biting into his thick neck and causing him to whinny in surprise. As he broke free she snapped, "What did I say? Shut Up!"

Before Red Snout could intervene, Grindal was on Fauna, hooves flailing and teeth flashing. "I'll teach you, you bitch."

"Alright, again!" Confidence Heart held the heavy pad up near her head, waiting for Swift Heart to kick at it. Getting control of her breathing, she took a deep breath and with a small grunt she rotated onto the ball of her other foot and let loose a high kick to the pad, a small grunt escaping with it.

"Now you're getting the hang of it. You're kicking higher each time, and again!" Confidence raised the pad a little higher. Rebounding quicker this time Swift Heart kicked up at the pad, grunt becoming a small yell.

"Good! Alright I think we can take a break," Confidence pulled the pad off her hand and moved to take a seat, tossing Swift Heart the bottle of water she's brought with her.

"Phew! Finally! I'm glad I stretched first." She told Confidence while collapsing to the floor. Putting one hand back to support herself, she guzzled down some of her water.

Confidence finished drinking her own water and moved to sit next to Swift Heart on the ground. "You're doing really well Swift Heart," she complimented.

"Aww thanks Confidence. But you know you kind of had a hand in that. You're the one who has been pushing me and helping me work on these high kicks." She smirked, "It makes me feel taller."

"Hey, ears count." Confidence laughed, "You know people used to mistake me for a rabbit all the time?"

"Seriously?" Cocking her head she looked Confidence over. "Well maybe I can see it."

"It's the ears. Most people don't ever know what a fennec fox is," Confidence said, moving her ears a bit for emphasis.

She pointed her bottle at Confidences tail. "Yeah but you have that. Clearly that is a little more substantial than my little poof." Rotating her hips she showed off her cottontail.

"That's pretty cute," Confidence smirked. "But as for how good you are, it's more than your training. You have a natural talent for martial arts."

"Really? You think? Just because I can kick?" Leaning forward she seemed eager to hear what Confidence had to say.

"Have you seen the other's progress?" Confidence Heart asked. "Birthday Bear is still working on the basics of Tai'chi, Playful's just getting past those and..." Confidence paused, "Well Nova almost at your level but she's putting her all into this." Confidence tapped Swift Heart's chest, "You've progressed a lot faster considering this is only your fifth lesson even if you are still training at home. You just pick up on everything I teach you naturally."

Swift Heart shrugged, "You make a point again. I guess I have noticed that I get this fairly easily. I'm really liking it. It gives me the same feeling I get when I'm running."

"Right, but there's a problem," Confidence said before taking another drink.

"A problem? What is my leg going to fall off or something?" Swift Heart's ears twitched to give Confidence her undivided attention.

"Your heart's not in it. You said you thought you should do this because of all the crazy stuff going on and you're working hard, but I can see you still aren't putting your all into this. You're talent's taken you this far but if you don't really commit to this, like you do for your running, then there's only so far you can go." Confidence sat there, waiting for Swift Heart's response.

Pulling the wrapper off her bottle she looked away for a moment. "I wouldn't say I don't want to put more into this. It just feels like something in me is opposing to learning a fighting style. I'm glad I know it, I just don't know if I could ever use it. Does that make sense?"

"Of course I do. You've never really had to fight someone have you? Not like I have," Confidence asked.

A cold feeling traveled down Swift Hearts' spine as visions of a cell drifted through her memory. "Well, ummm...there was this one thing that happened. I was kidnapped and forced to be the white rabbit of Wonderland for a while."

"You were? How did that happen?" Confidence said.

Swift Heart took a deep breath, "Well it started when this freaky bear called Blade Star jumped out of my mirror..."

"Grindal stop it! Get off her!" No surprise, Red Snout was ignored.

A loose circle was formed around Fauna and Grindal as they fought. Currently, Fauna was on her hind legs striking out at Grindal's head, her hooves charged with magic, though it didn't seem to faze him. Dropping his head Grindal charged at her, shoving his head and shoulders into her exposed belly and making her fall back. Before she hit the ground she twisted to land on her side instead of her back. Rebounding back to her feet she kicked at Grindal, sending dirt up to blind him. Snorting he tried to clear his vision.

Fauna latched onto his ear and pulled down hard, dragging him back to the rocks on the edge of the lagoon. Using all her might she threw him into the rocks, "I said to leave my Red alone, and I meant it! I see you near him again and I will kill you!" Fauna laid into him with her hind hooves, making her warning sink in.

"Fauna stop! He gets it!" One of the other gang members yelled to her. Pausing to take a breath, she saw Grindal bleeding slightly, dozens of welts appearing on his side already. Snorting on him she moved off.

"Look out!" Red Snout's warning wasn't fast enough however. Grindal had gained his guardian form, komodo dragon, and sank his teeth into Fauna's hind leg. A snap was heard as he yanked her down, making Fauna whinny in pain.

Red Snout jumped on Grindal, blasting him with his magic. "You heard Fauna! I'm done with you! You shouldn't have done that!" He kicked Grindal in his small head, knocking the alpha out. The gang members flattened their ears and lowered their heads in submission.

Red Snout ignored them, his attention fully on Fauna. He was panicking over the fact her lower leg appeared broken, but more so the fact komodo venom was pulsing through her system. Fatal venom to be exact. "Fauna what can I do to stop this? Is there an anti-venom or something? Should I get a healer?"

"Red Snout calm down. I'm going to be fine." Not putting any weight on her hind leg she got to her feet. "Let's go."

As she hobbled away he tried to stop here, "Fauna you got bit."

"I know but komodo venom doesn't work on other komodos. And last I checked I can take a komodo form." She smirked as he sighed in relief. "Now come on."

Red Snout helped her to limp away from the lagoon. When they were halfway back to the wolf's nesting grounds Red Snout attempted to apologize, "Fauna about what happened...Ow!"

She had bitten him and was now berating him with her wings. "If you ever make me or the guys go through anything like that again I will pluck all the feathers from your body! I was so freaking worried about you!" She yelled as she continued to repay Red Snout for all the heartache he'd caused over the last few months.

"Wow, that's quite a story," Confidence was wide eyed as Swift Heart finished regaling her with the story of her adventures in Wonderland. "No wonder you though you needed to be able to defend yourself."

"Yeah. I mean I did okay, but it was mostly Grumpy and the others fighting to rescue me. And I'm sure you've picked up on the fact I hate feeling useless." Swift Heart sighed.

"But you don't want to hurt anyone. It's against your nature as Care Bears, that's why you're afraid to continue right?" Confidence guessed.

Swift Heart nodded, tossing her empty bottle aside. "There have only been a handful of times when I've actually felt like I could physically harm someone, and usually it was to defend someone."

"Well let me let you in on something: the martial arts were made to protect others, to let those who were weak protect themselves from those who were stronger, and the more and faster you learn the less likely you are to actually hurt someone. Here let me show you." Confidence Heart stood up.

Scooting back, Swift Heart eyed her warily, "You aren't going to flip me through the air or anything are you?"

"Just get up and I'll show you," Confidence.

"Alright," Swift Heart stood up.

"Now come at me, it doesn't matter how," Confidence just seemed to be standing there. Swift Heat hopping in place for a moment before charging and kicking right at Confidence's head.

Confidence blocked the blow to the side with her right arm then grabbed Swift Heart's leg with her left hand and pushed it to the side, moving fast and pushing Swift Heart with an open palm thrust back before dropping down and stopping Swift Heart from hitting the mat with her leg.

"Ow, that hurt!" Swift Heart glared at the fennec.

"Did it?" Confidence smirked before letting Swift Heart hit the mat softly.

"Actually..." Swift Heart paused and felt herself all over, "No."

"Right. If I wasn't skilled enough to stop you, or hold back when I pushed you off balance I could have hurt you, but I know how to pull my punches so you're perfectly alright. If I hadn't blocked that kick then you might have hurt me," Confidence smiled. "If you really put your heart into this then you can learn how to fight without hurting anyone, it's the amateurs who usually hurt others without meaning to."

Swift Heart held a hand up to Confidence "I see what you're saying. Maybe I should put a little more effort into this."

Confidence helped her to stand, "You don't have to decide right now, Swift Heart. Take a week or two off lessons, though keep training on your own if you want, and really think about if you want to do this. If you do then I can step it up for you and if not we'll keep going at this pace. You've got a real talent for Taekwondo but if you don't want to go too far I won't be offended."

"I'll do that. Thanks Confidence, I mean it." She gripped the Fennecs hand warmly.

"No problem. Now I think we've done enough today, want to get a bite to eat?" Confidence offered.

"Yea totally! With my metabolism I'm always hungry after a good workout," she told Confidence.

"I don't doubt it. Want to go alone or see if we can get Love Heart and Grumpy to go along?" She asked as they headed for the change room.

Swift Heart snickered, "My boyfriend will be a piece of cake. All he'll hear is food and he will be here in a heartbeat."

"Great." Confidence pulled off her gi and grabbed for her normal clothes, "I can get Love Heart easily. It's a double date then."

"Great. I know a great place called the WokBox. Hope you like Asian food," Confidence said and she finished dressing. "We'll meet at the Hall of Hearts before we head out."

She looked at Confidence through the mirror, "I do. See you there in a flash!" Fluffing her hair once more Swift Heart sped from the room.

Confidence smirked and darte out of the gym too, not nearly as fast as Swift Heart. She headed towards her and Love Heart's shared house, knowing he'd probably be there.

Thankfully Love Heart was. He was doing some training of his own in the back yard. He smiled and moved to give Confidenec a hug as she came into range. "Hey Cassy. Have a good lesson with Swift Heart?"

"You bet. Now maybe you should change, we're going out for supper," Confidence said.

"Sounds good, I was getting hungry anyway," Love Heart said as he headed inside.

"Swift Heart and Grumpy are coming with us," Confidence added as she followed Love Heart inside, hanging her gi up on a hook.

"Alright, just give me a minute to change," Love Heart called, having disappeared into their bedroom.

Grumpy had come in from his garage to see Swift Heart sitting on his kitchen counter. "Did I know you were coming?" She shook her head. "Breaking and entering then? Interesting career choice."

Grinning at him she retorted, "You know I'd be a much better getaway driver. But anyways I came to see if you wanted food?" She saw his eyes light up and continued, "I thought as much." Jumping down she kissed his cheek. "Come on. Love Heart and Confidence are waiting."

Grumpy frowned, "Like a double date? You didn't say that."

"I know. And now it's too late for you to back out. Food Grumpy. Yummy food," she taunted as she led him out the door.

Love Heart and Confidence were already outside the Hall of Hearts. Confidence Heart waved when she was Swift Heart and Grumpy approaching, "Ready to go?" she called to them.

Swift Heart nodded, "Want Grumpy to drive? Or are you going to?"

Grumpy frowned at her, "Gee thanks for asking me. Sure I wouldn't mind at all," he commented sourly.

"If he doesn't want to drive I can drive," Confidence said. Without another word she conjured a cloud car.

"Looks like you are driving then." Grumpy told her. He opened the back door for Swift Heart. Shaking her head she thanked him and climbed in.

"Well we are the ones who know where the place is," Love Heart said as he got in the passenger's seat while Confidence got in the driver's seat.

Swift Heart leant forward, crossing her arms over the back of the seats in front of her. "So do they have all kinds of Asian food here?"

"Yup! Japanese, Chinese, Indian, pretty much everywhere in Asia," Confidence said as she drove up then over the edge towards Earth.

"Good. I like places with variety." Grumpy said as he looked over the edge of the cloudmobile.

"I'm just glad they have other options then sushi. I'm not big on fish." Swift Heart stated.

"Actually they don't have seafood last I checked," Love Heart said.

"Perfect!" Swift replied with a grin.

The WokBox was a small restaurant on the edge of a main street in a small city. Love Heart opened the door for the other and followed them in. The ordering counter was right in front of the kitchen; a couple employees were frying a number of vegetables and meat in woks on stoves directly behind the counter. A lit up sign with the menu hung above the counter.

"Just like I remember," Love Heart said.

As Grumpy read over the menu above the counter Swift Heart wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder, "You know what you want?"

He shook his head, "Got a few options. You?" Grinning she pointed to a dish with ginger flavoring and carrots in it. He sighed, "Should a seen that coming."

"I'm getting the teriyaki beef with chow mein noodles," Confidence said.

"I feel like a treat, I'm going for the rice with butter chicken," Love Heart added.

"I guess I'll get the orange chicken and rice," Grumpy decided. He moved with Swift Heart to place their order.

"Ney nice to see you two again," the manager at the till said to Love Heart and Confidence.

"You used to come here a lot?" Grumpy asked.

"Yup, like this. We needed to eat out some times without being mobbed," Love Heart said.

"Stardom wasn't always what it was cracked up to be?" Swift Heart asked them.

Confidence shook her head, "Nope. But it was good income at least."

"I wouldn't like it. Having hordes of people screaming your name and seeing your face on their t-shirts and stuff," Grumpy said.

"It was exhausting," Love Heart said as they waited for their food. "It's a lot better living up with you guys."

Swift Heart tapped her chopsticks on the table as they waited, staving off her impatience. "You sure you won't miss the lime light, even a little? Some of it had to be fun."

"It was and we do at times, but we're done with it for a while. Maybe when we're older we can try it again but for now we'll stick with what we have," Love Heart said.

"Order 51 is ready!" a sever called.

"That's us!" Confidence sprang up and darted to the counter, grabbing the trey with their four bowls and four cups on it and carrying it to their table.

"There's a drink machine over there," Love Heart pointed to a soda fountain on a wall near the counter.

Taking her cup and Grumpy and Swift Heart went to fill them. Returning quickly she put Grumpy's in front of him. Sniffing the steaming food she licked her lips, "Mmmm it smells really good." Her stomach grumbled in agreement.

"Well dig in, no one's stopping you." Confidence grinned and picked up her own chopsticks, digging into her noodle dish. Love Heart ate slower, carefully pushing rice and butter chicken into his mouth.

Grumpy had not bothered with chopsticks and used his fork to pick up his chicken and rice. "You guys have a good session today?" He asked Swift Heart and Confidence.

"Yeah. Apparently I'm a natural," Swift Heart told him looking proud.

"She is," Confidence confirmed, "We're even talking about her taking more advances lessons if she's ready. She's gonna take some time off to think about it though."

"But I'll still be practicing. And guess who I have my sights set on for a practice dummy."

Grumpy rolled his eyes and shook his head making her laugh, "Lucky me."

"Don't be too rough on him," Confidence joked.

"Pssshhh no rougher then she is already."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" She whacked his arm with the back of her hand, demanding an answer.

He looked at her, "Oh gee Swift I wonder."

"In in the bedroom?" Love Heart inquired.

Both of them glared at Love Heart. "I meant situations like now, when she hits me for information," Grumpy clarified.

"Yeesh, sorry I asked," Love Heart rolled his eyes.

"Not a polite question, Love Heart. What they do on their own time is their business," Confidence said, before stuffing more food in her mouth.

"Well said Confidence," Swift Heart acknowledged before eating the rest of her dinner.

"Well we wouldn't want people to ask us questions like that," Confidence said, "Even though we're not doing anything."

Grumpy glanced at Swift Heart, "We've had a few bad experiences with people prying into our business. So we tend to be a little gun shy about discussing things."

"Want to talk about it?" Love Heart asked, "The bad experiences I mean."

"No. That's in the past. We are moving on from it and we don't like to bring it up," she told him. Grumpy nodded in agreement.

"Alright," Love Heart returned to his rice and butter chicken.

Red Snout had managed to finally convince Fauna to stop attacking him and the two were continuing on to the Forest region. Red Snout had used his magic to form a magical splint for Fauna's hind leg until it could get checked over by a healer. For the most part she didn't complain, but every now and then she would mistep and give a little grunt.

"You can just ride me if you want," Red Snout offered.

"That's sweet Snout, but for some reason shifting with a broken bone doesn't appeal to me."

Getting her point he winced, "Fair enough."

The sounds of magic were coming from nearby, followed by a grunt that Fauna recognized as belonging to her brother.

"Not bad, but remember what White Fang said, you need to push your limits for this spell." The voice belonged to Nova.

"Oh boy, your brother is practicing his spells again," Red Snout groaned. "Let's hope no more reality shifts happen. I would hate to wake up in love with Thunder or as a council member or whatever."

"I think he's over that phase in his life," Fauna told him with a giggle. "But let's go see what he's up to anyway." Fauna moved towards her brother and Nova.

Renegade concentrated once again, charging a white ball of light between his front hooves which were raised in front of him.

"Whatchya doin baby bro?" Fauna asked, as she looked at the magic. Nova looked over in surprise, clearly not having heard her and Red Snout come up.

"He's trying an expanded senses spell. It'll let him become aware of everything in a large area. The more power he puts into it the larger the area," Nova explained.

"Interesting," Fauna mused.

Red Snout shrugged, "Seems a bit excessive to me."

"It is, but that's the point," Nova explained. Propping her hind leg off the ground Fauna waited for her brother to finish. She didn't want to distract him and risk messing him up.

The light in Renegade's hooves flashed and suddenly dispersed over a wide area, causing everyone to jump. "There I can sense everything," Renegade said, his eyes closed. Suddenly he fell back on his rear and groaned, his head spinning, "Uggg, so much information."

"Well that's what you get for being a," Fauna paused and thought for a moment, "What's the word White Fang uses? Oh right, a yenta." Stretching her neck out to him she asked, "You going to be okay?"

"Just give me a minute, sis. I need to get used to this kind of thing, need to sort out all the info in my head," Renegade replied.

"Heh, among other things," Red Snout muttered.

"I can beat you more if you like," Fauna offered.

Cockily he replied, "And what if I said I would?"

Fauna laughed, "You dope."

Turning to Nova she asked, "Do you know why he decided to do this?"

"White Fang's pushing him since he's been slacking off lately, what with you returning and such. So he told him to try this spell and put as much energy into the spell as possible," Nova explained.

"He's right, I need to pick up the slack I've been dropping for the last little while." Renegade shook his head rapidly, "OK I think I have it sorted out. My head stopped spinning."

"That's good. Learn anything interesting?" Fauna asked her brother.

"There's a group of foals playing about a kilometer to the west. One older Pegasus a few miles to the north, and I can sense all the trees nearby. Too many to count. There's a few more Pegasus nearby but not in sight range," Renegade said, closing his eyes to interpret the information.

"For the record, I can smell the herd nearby. It's the foxes," Red Snout announced.

"Ignore him. Well I just wanted to stop by and see you since I heard you, but now I need to get to a healer," she showed him her broken leg.

"Ouch!" Renegade winced, "How'd that happen?"

"Got in a minor discussion with Grindal. He pulled a cheap shot on me and bit me. But it was worth it," she smiled at Red Snout who smiled back.

"Well that's good. I'm guessing you gave that opinionated jerk the kicks he deserved," Nova said, smiling as well.

"Yeah she did. Both of them." Red Snout showed off his own bruises from Fauna. "She made sure I learned my lesson too."

"Good," Nova continued smiling.

Fauna winced, "Ok I really need to go." Turning she began to limp away.

"I could help you know," Nova offered. "I'm guessing you got poisoned too."

She shook her head, "The poison doesn't affect me but yeah if you wouldn't mind healing me that'd be awesome."

"Alright, just give me a moment." Nova moved closer and lowered her head, pointing her horn at Fauna's injured leg. Her horn glowed blue and Fauna felt the pain leave her leg. "There that should do it. I purged the poison too, just in case."

Stretching the limb she grinned, "Thanks!"

"Now that would be a useful thing to learn. It sure would have made growing up with my brothers easier," Red Snout said.

"Honestly I didn't learn that. Healing minor wounds and neutralizing poison is an innate talent for unicorns," Nova said. "But I'm learning actual healing magic too."

"Alright I think the spell's wearing off." Renegade shook his head again, "I could use something to eat. Want to get some janberries, Nova?" he offered.

"Sure, I could use some food," Nova said, still smiling.

Fauna smiled at the two, "Come on Snout. We should get back to the guys. I told them it wouldn't take me more than 20 minutes and it's been like an hour and a half."

Red Snout spread his wings, "Fine by me! It almost makes me sound like I have a backbone."

Fauna shoved him aside as she took to the air, "I can fix that by kicking your ass in a race!"

"Cheat!" He yelled taking off after her.


	20. Family Care Arc, part 1

Chapter 20

Even though Proud Heart was late the rest of the teachers had gathered for their weekly Friday meeting in the Hall of Hearts. Everyone was tapping their feet and or fidgeting.

"Well, I guess we can start now," True Heart said.

"Good. So what's new?" Brave Heart asked.

"I tink I need to tone down de recipes we workin on. Dey started two fires in de kitchen jus' dis week." Illusion stated while showing off the burn on his elbow.

"Ouch!" Bright Heart winced.

"I think we'll need to start thinking about testing soon," True Heart suggested.

"I agree. I have almost finished my syllabus for the quarter." Tenderheart informed her as he looked over the paper in front of him. "Overall grades have been good, with a few exceptions here and there."

"Sorry I'm late, just had to go check in with Take Care!" Proud Heart called as she entered the Hall of Heart. Her expression was glowing a she sat down and it was impossible to miss the notable bump in her midsection. "Did I miss anything important?" she asked.

"Non chere, jus us given our reports an Truey mentionin she tink it time fo' some tests." Etienne responded.

"I've been working on my own tests for a while," Proud Heart said, setting her notebook down in front of her.

"Proud Heart, are you expecting?" Tenderheart asked.

"Why yes I am. I found out a week ago but I wasn't sure when to break the news. So surprise," Proud Heart beamed.

Brave Heart smiled at her, "Congrats!" he chuckled and added, "Loyal Heart, you dog." Under his breath.

"Everything is well I take it?" True Heart asked her with a smile of her own.

"Yes. We're healthy so for but we have no idea what species or gender it is yet," Proud Heart said.

"Noble Heart, what's wrong?" Guidance Heart asked, noticing the downcast look on the horse founder's face.

"Well I'm worried about the rest of the family," Noble Heat admitted. "I know you've handled yourself well, Proud Heart, and I'm very happy to see the mature and responsible young woman you've grown up into."

"Thank you." Proud Heart smiled.

"But I'm worried that if anyone else ends up pregnant that they won't be able to handle it, especially since they have no idea what bearing a child or having to care for one is like." Noble Heart sighed and put his hand in his hands.

"Isn't that what Proud Heart's health class has been about?" Tender Heart asked. "Plus, like you said, Proud Heart figured it out, so wouldn't they?"

"Not everyone can adapt as well as Proud Heart did, and to be honest second hand experience is very poor," True Heart said.

"She is right. I barely managed to get it together when I first found out I was pregnant," Proud Heart admitted. "I nearly lost it a few times before my wedding, and even after that the first few days with Trust Heart nearly killed me."

"So den what we supposed to do?" Etienne asked.

Brave Heart was rubbing his chin in his usual thinking manner, "You know. Some high schools require their kids to keep a fake baby alive fer a week. It shows them how hard it is to be teen parents and what not. Why don't we do somethin like that?"

"I could rig up something like that," Bright Heart offered, "but it'll take a while."

"I'm more worried one of them will get pregnant before too long. I know a number of them are sexually active and we don't know if they're using protection or not, or how effect or…" Noble Heart trailed off, his head in his hands.

"I may have a solution," Guidance Heart finally spoke up.

"Really, chere, what is it?" Illusion asked. Everyone's attention was now on Guidance Heart.

Guidance was a bit nervous but she spoke up, "With the light elementalism powers I've learned from the Magi I can heal or alter the body. I could try to generate a fake pregnancy on any woman. It would be temporary but it would let them experience what pregnancy is like so they know what they'd be in for if they continue to act irresponsibly."

True Heart seemed intrigued by this idea, "Hmmm it would be a good learning experience for them. What do you think Noble Heart?"

"If you can manage to do it to all of them. We could organize a meeting to announce the project but first we have to make a plan for this timeline, when their 'pregnancy' ends and they have to start looking after their 'child'," Noble Heart agreed.

"Well the three of us, and Loyal Heart, should probably be the judges of how well they do since we're the only ones with real world experience. Also if it's not too much to ask could we skip this assignment?" Proud Heart asked.

"Of course, Proud Heart, I won't make you look after a fake child when you have a real one to look after and another on the way," True Heart reassured her. She turned to Guidance Heart and continued, "For the best results I think you should test your powers on me so I can gauge how accurate your false pregnancy feels. I want to be sure they know exactly what it feels like and I can still remember how it felt." She stood up and Guidance followed suit.

"Alright." Guidance nodded, "Let's go into the other room so I can concentrate and you guys can work on the assignment plan."

Harmony raised her hand then, "Umm hello? Shouldn't the only girl who will be affected by this at the table get a say?" Looking at the others briefly she said, "Not to lay all my business out or anything but Brave Heart and I are super careful. We know what happens when a song gets sung without proper prep time. Just for the record. While I get the purpose of this little thing, I want to be absolutely sure there won't be _any_ lasting side effects. Get my point?"

"I promise there won't be any lasting side-effects," Guidance reassured her. "Worst case scenario, your breasts will be a swollen maybe an extra cup-size for a week or two afterwards."

"Do it!" Brave Heart yelled, jumping to his feet in excitement but Harmony's glare silenced him

"Nice man. Way to be totally male brained. You are so flying solo for a while." Crossing her arms she turned away from him. Groaning, Brave Heart sunk back into his seat with Etienne patting his shoulder in sympathy.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Harmony. We want to pair up those who will work best as a family together so you and Brave Heart will be doing this assignment together, as well all the other couples in the Kingdom of Caring. For those few who are alone we'll just pair them up with each other," Noble Heart said.

Fixing her boyfriend with an icy glare Harmony said nothing more to him and Brave Heart proceeded to grovel, "I swear I will go to whatever concert you want me to and I won't complain at all." As a silly after thought he added, "I love you my Harmy Warmy." Some of the other teachers giggled making Harmony blush.

"Alright you all get it together." True Heart declared while fighting off her own grin before she and Guidance vanished into the smaller office.

"I'll forgive you this once," Harmony said, giving Brave Heart a kiss. A few flashes of light appeared behind the door as the remaining teachers got to work on the assignment plans.

"I think the timeline for this assignment should be no more than a month, that's enough time for them to get an idea of what it's like," Bright Heart said.

"For both the pregnancy and the baby care or just the pregnancy?" Harmony asked.

"Both. I think about two weeks for each should be good, that and I'll need those two weeks to get enough eggbabies made while I'm helping to look after Gentle Heart," Bright Heart said.

"Wha' about mois shiela and Cozy? Last oi checked they lay eggs," Illusion interjected.

"Well the eggs actually spend a fair amount of time growing inside the mother's body, not like a chicken where they lay the egg after only a day of growth. I could rig up some heat sensitive eggs that they have to keep a certain temperature but they should still 'carry' for about a week just to get the point across," Bright Heart said.

"If Guidance Heart can perfect her simulated pregnancy today then we can call an assembly later to announce the new assignment and Guidance can hit them with this light of hers before they can protest or get away," Noble Heart said.

"Will Guidance have to swing with us at least?" Harmony asked.

Noble Heart smirked, "Yes, she will. Last I checked she hasn't had a child yet so she needs this just as much as everyone else."

"So what plans do you have for these eggbabies of yours, Bright Heart?" Brave Heart asked.

"I got the idea from a few cartoons I've watched. It's going to be a small baby in some form or other with a basic computer program inside that will respond to how the baby is treated, cared for and stimulated allowing us to track their grades that way," Bright Heart explained.

"As for the grade on the pregnancy portion we should make each of the couples keep a journal of their activities. Of course we need to make sure the mothers know what their diets should be and what kind of activities to avoid," Proud Heart said.

"You're the expert, well you and True Heart." Bright Heart nodded. "Another issue is the same-sex couples. We can agree that they should be together during the baby raising portion of the assignment but Tenderheart, Perfect, Lotsa and Defiant will completely skip the first half of the assignment, not to mention Secret and Friend will have to deal with a whole lot more than the other couples if they're both pregnant."

"I think I have a solution," Tenderheart spoke up. "Perfect and I can work as a threesome with Calm Heart, Brave Heart stop laughing!" he shot at the lion, who had started snickering when the word 'threesome' was mentioned. "As for Secret, Friend, Defiant and Lotsa, we could ask them to temporarily trade partners for the first half of the assignment and then go back to their normal couples when the eggbaby stage comes around."

"Sounds like a good plan, Tenderheart." Noble Heart nodded encouragingly.

"Alright I think we're done," Guidance Heart called as she stepped out of the office. True Heart followed positively glowing, her hands resting on a tummy swollen heavily in a mock full-term pregnancy.

Noble Heart shot up and darted over to his wife, "How does it feel? How do you feel?" he asked hurriedly.

"It feels very real. We had to experiment a bit to get the feeling just right." True Heart moved her hands over her swollen tummy, "It felt a bit hollow at first but the Guidance was able to make the light heavier and even make it move from time to time." As if to emphasize her point, both she and Noble Heart felt what they could have mistaken for a kick.

"But how does light get heavy, or react like that?" Bright Heart asked.

Guidance Heart sighed, "Bright Heart it's like magic. You can't really explain it with science so just roll with it. I did twins with True Heart here and I think I'll mix in some of those with the others at random," she smiled.

"It feels just like I'm carrying Hugs and Tugs again," True Heart said, smiling warmly.

"Looks like you knocked up True Heart alright," Brave Heart couldn't resist blurting out, earning some chuckles from Illusion and Bright Heart.

"Ha ha," Guidance mocked the lion, "I'd better reverse it before the symptoms set in." She raised her hand towards True Heart and white light seemed to pour out from the founder's tummy which promptly shrank back to its normal size.

"Symptoms?" Harmony sounded worried.

"Of course, Harmony," Proud Heart said, grinning. "You're not just going to be carrying excess weight, your ankles will hurt, you'll be hungry all the time for the strangest foods, you'll have mood swings, and if you're at full term your breasts will start lactating."

"What about the… stretching and weight gain?" Harmony asked.

"Fortunately for you I can alleviate those post-pregnancy symptoms by virtue of the light energy that you'll be carrying. No stretch marks and you won't have any excess leftover weight," Guidance reassured her. Harmony sighed in relief and slumped back in her chair.

"Alright it looks like everything's in order. All we have to do is make up the grading plans for both stages of the assignment," Tenderheart checked his watch, "It's only 10:00am so if we finish this before lunch we can get everyone together right before they eat and get things started."

"Alright then, let's get to work on it," Noble Heart said as he, True Heart and Guidance took their places once again.

It was right before lunch time when the announcement came on, Tenderheart's voice blaring through the intercom: "Attention! Attention! All Care Bears, Care Bear Cousins and Care Bear Magi please report to the Hall of Hearts immediately for a very important assembly! All Care Bears, Care Bear Cousins and Care Bear Magi please report to the Hall of Hearts immediately for a very important assembly!"

No one wanted to be late for this, especially since no one would call an assembly like this for a trivial reason.

Harmony and Brave Heart stood at the entrance to the Hall of Hearts and as the Care Bear Family members each approached they were directed to a group of chairs on one side of the hall or the other, separated by a row of pylons.

"Alright gals to my side, boys to Brave Heart's side," Harmony said as Secret and Friend walked past her.

"Special rules, gotta split the genders up for this assembly," Brave Heart added as more approached

Love-a-Lot and Share looked at each other in confusion. Going to Harmony Share asked, "Why do we have to be separate? Are we going a gender wars thing?"

Harmony smiled at her, "Just hang tight! All will be explained shortly. But trust girl, it's going to be far from expected."

"And that's supposed to be reassuring?" Love a Lot asked. Regardless she and Share took their seats.

It took a few more minutes for everyone to gather and with everyone inside Harmony and Brave Heart closed the doors behind them, standing behind their respective gender groups.

Proud Heart, Loyal Heart, Noble Heart and True Heart were up on a small stage they had set up for assemblies. True Heart tapped the microphone in front of her to make sure it was working before she spoke up. "Good afternoon everyone. I know you're wondering why you're all here today and part of it has to do with a special announcement. Proud Heart Cat is expecting again." True Heart gestured to Proud Heart who waved to the audience.

Swift Heart gave a short laugh, "You two are populating like rabbits! Congrats all the same."

"Good one!" Confidence gave Swift Heart a high five.

"Yes well as happy as we are for her and Loyal Heart we do have some concerns about the rest of you." True Heart cleared her throat a bit before continuing, "We know that a number of you are sexually active, and though we don't want to pry into your personal lives I'm sure that you don't want to start having families yet, especially without any knowledge of just what you'd be going through."

"Proud Heart hassss been talking about that sssstuff with us," Cozy said.

"Yes I have," Proud Heart took over from True Heart, "But trust us when we say that second hand knowledge or even volunteering to babysit on occasion, thank you by the way," she added, noting a few who had done so for her, "But that isn't quite enough experience for you to know what it's like. Having to attend to a child 24/7 is much more taxing."

"Are we going to be doing one of those 'eggbaby' things?" Anger Heart asked from the audience.

"Are we kidnapping a child? Cause I Don't think that will go over well," Funshine added making a few people laugh.

"Well yes you will be doing an eggbaby assignment," True Heart confirmed, "but not right away."

Grumpy frowned, "You aren't going to make the guys wear those fake pregnancy suits are you?" Swift Heart couldn't help but laugh as she imagined what Grumpy would look like wearing one of those.

"No, not guys," True Heart signaled Loyal Heart and Noble Heart who yanked on the curtain ropes.

The curtains pulled back suddenly to reveal Guidance Heart standing there, two large globes of white light collected around her hands and an aura of white light surrounding her body. "And not exactly fake either!" the raccoon shouted before shooting her hands forwards. A massive wave of white light blasted out from Guidance's hands and enveloped all the girls on their side of the gym, Harmony included.

"Whoa!"

"Hey!"

"What's going on?!"

Shouts of surprise, confusion and then anger emanated from the girl's side of the hall as their tummies suddenly expanded, a few more so than others. Guidance finished her wave by turning it upon herself, inflicting the same treatment on her tummy before dropping down into the chair behind her, hands on her now apparently pregnant stomach.

Cheer's eyes were wide as she saw her stomach balloon out, "What the hell Guidance? What did you do to us?" Share and Love-a-Lot voiced similar outrages.

Treat Heart jumped and squealed, "Ahh! I felt something weird just now!"

"This is something we came up with this morning. It's a simulated pregnancy caused by Guidance Heart's control over light." True Heart smiled, "I helped her perfect it so it would feel as real as possible. For the next two weeks you're going to be carrying those so you know exactly what Proud Heart and I went through when we were pregnant."

Guidance Heart stood up and carefully made her way to the microphone. "You're at full term already but the symptoms will be the same, though there won't be any actual children. I gave a few of you twins as well since that's a risk you can take, I'm sure you can tell who has them."

"Looks like we're two of them, Swift," Confidence said, noticing that both the rabbit's and her tummies were noticeably larger than the ones nearest to them.

Swift Heart nodded. She was staring at her enlarged stomach, mouth agape, unable to form any words at the moment. All she could manage was attempting to pull her shirt back down over it, which proved futile and she gave up quickly.

Cozy had a flipper on her stomach and was looking over at Gloria, "Ssssoooo how isss thissss working for ussss?"

"Yeah, I was kinda wondering that too. I thought we laid eggs," Grateful said.

"Well we got some information about your species and we found out that you carry the eggs inside you for a fair amount of time. In a week you'll have the simulated pregnancy removed and you'll be given fake eggs to keep warm for the second week," True Heart explained.

Cozy sighed in relief and gave her tummy a little rub, "Oh good, I wassss worried about having to lay an egg thisss ssssize." She teased, attempting to lighten the mood with the other girls.

"Wait! You said symptoms. Are we going to do the whole morning sickness, and back pain, swollen ankles, increased appetite thing too?" Funshine asked, making Wish yelp and cover her mouth.

"Oh no! I can't handle puke! It's so gross!"

"Well you're in luck, you get to skip the morning sickness but everything else will kick in in about an hour, including strange food cravings. That's how long it'll take your bodies to 'realize' that you're 'pregnant'," Guidance said.

It was then Swift Heart seemed to get over her shock and she located Grumpy once more, "I swear if I start craving pickled beets, I will make your life a living hell!"

Up till then, Grumpy had been staring at Swift Heart in open mouthed shock, identical really to how she had just looked. Now he shook his head and scowled, "No way you can blame this on me! That," he pointed at her belly from across the room, "is not my fault."

"On that note, are we just supposed to be the theoretical dads in this?" Champ asked.

"Yes, in fact, you are," Noble Heart said, stepping forwards. "We would like all of you in relationships to pair up and act as families for the following month. You should keep track of your activities and food intake, Harmony and Brave Heart will give you some information booklets and a journal for you to track your progress once you've gotten to each other."

"But what about us, or the other homosexuals?" Friend called out, "It's not fair that Secret and I both have to do this together and Lotsa, Defiant, Perfect and Tenderheart get to skip out!"

True Heart nodded, "You're right. And we thought of that. Tender Heart, Perfect, and Calm Heart will be working together. For the pregnancy portion, we are going to ask you four to trade partners temporarily. Then once the egg babies are 'born' you can return to your original couples to raise them. Sound fair?"

"I suppose so," Friend said. Secret leaned over and whispered something and Friend nodded. "Secret says she'd feel most comfortable with Lotsa Heart, she thinks she can try to talk to him better than Defiant."

"However you want to work it is fine with us." True Heart told them.

"And since Wish and Independent aren't in any relationship, they can work together on this," Noble Heart added.

"What about Bedtime, hey where is he anyway?" Anger Heart asked, searching around the room but not spotting the bear anywhere.

"Well he's on night classes alone, but we think we'll have him act as a night time relief if someone has an emergency at night and needs extra help," True Heart said.

Proud Heart spoke up, "Since we're the only ones with actual experience in this area, True Heart and I will be grading your performance along with our husbands. Now you will have to attend classes," a collective groan rose from the family, "but the girls will have a separate gym and health classes and I'll teach you some good exercises to do in this state and some other important information about how to look after yourselves. Now pair up everyone, you have the weekend to get used to things before classes on Monday."

Brave Heart had wasted no time, since he and Harmony were already standing near each other. Currently she was standing against the door looking less than amused while Brave Heart spoke baby talk to her tummy, "And I'll teach you to play catch and we'll get you wittle baby booties, and a night light, and maybe even a pony!"

"Someone please just kill me now," she muttered.

True Heart tapped the microphone and spoke again, "Brave Heart, Harmony, you should be passing out those journals and information books right now."

"Oh right!" Brave gave Harmony's tummy a little rub, "We'll talk later little man." He moved off and Harmony mouthed "thank you" to True Heart before waddling off in the other direction. It took her a few steps to adjust to her new center of gravity.

Everyone quickly paired up, Confidence moved with Swift Heart to meet Grumpy and Love Heart. "Looks like Wish, Cheer and Funshine got twins too, Swift." Her gaze drifted up to the stage, "Guidance too it looks like. At least she won't be exempt from her own experiment."

"Yipee skippy for us all," Swift muttered. "I can't wait to hear Cheer shrieking about losing her figure for the next two weeks." She crossed her arms, resting them on the top of her stomach, "How the hell did they come up with this?"

"I'll ask Guidance later," Anger Heart said as he grabbed the books from Brave Heart and Harmony as they came near before heading up to the stage.

"Gotta admit, this is the last thing I expected to deal with today," Love Heart commented as he reached Confidence Heart, "But I promise I'll do my best here, once I figure out just what I have to do."

Grumpy too made it to them, "Here. I figured you'd want this." He handed Swift Heart his hoodie jacket.

Grinning she took it from him, "You are doing great already! Thanks babe." Slipping it on she managed to just get it to zip up over her belly. Resting a hand on it afterwards Swift Heart laughed slightly, "I should of known I'd get twins. I'm surprised it wasn't triplets even." Putting his arm around her Grumpy gave her a squeeze, "Rabbit luck unfortunately."

"Well at least you can think about whether you want to dedicate yourself to martial arts while you're doing this," Confidence said, "Maybe I can speak to Proud Heart about working on those gym classes. Some tai'chi could be useful."

"Ha that's for sure. If I tried to kick anything now, I'm pretty sure I'd topple over." Swift Heart replied.

Love Heart took a deep breath as he grabbed the journal and book from Brave Heart, "We should probably get home then, before this gets too serious."

"One last thing," True Heart called from the stage, "It would be best if each couple lived in one house for the duration of this assignment, for those who aren't already living under one roof together."

"What do you think Swift? My house?"

She nodded to Grumpy, "Love my burrow. But the idea of climbing that ladder everyday with this thing is not sounding pleasant. I can see now why pregnant women get sore backs." She flipped through the booklet.

Grumpy took it from her and took her hand, "Come on. Let's get you home." They headed out of the hall.

Jolly was leaving with Cozy, looking positively ecstatic. "OI can't believe we are having a fake nippah! That's roit aces that is! OI always wanted ta be a pop!"

"I'm glad you ssseem sssso excited Jolly. I am too. I think thisss will be a good thing." Cozy Heart smiled.

Leaning over Jolly kissed her, bending awkwardly so as not to crush her stomach. Pulling back after a few seconds he whispered, "OI can't think of anything bettah love. Roit! To tha igloo we go. OI want you and the nippah as comfy as possible."

"Oh Jolly, you are absssolutley perfect."

Illusion and Gloria too were leaving the hall. Since they lived together already they didn't have to decide where they were going to live. Illusion was clearly fretting about something however. "What's wrong Illy?"

"Notin much chere. I jus worried dis might be hard fo' me. My kind not exactly known fo' dere paternal gifts. An' truthfully I never expected to have _les bébés de ma propre._"

Gloria put a hand out to stop him and stood in front of him, "I only expect you to do all can. Honestly this is something I wasn't thinking would happen either Illy. But I think we both will be better at it then we think. After all, you have your parents as an example and clearly they have broken the stereotypical alligator mold."

He grinned at her, "You speak de truth chere. Mayhaps you right." Offering her his arm they continued home.

"How do you feel, Sunshine?" Playful asked, reaching out and touching his girlfriend's huge stomach.

His touch tickled her and she laughed, "Weird. It really feels like there is something in there. Or in my case, I guess two somethings."

"Well I guess we should live at your place, too many climbing places in my tree house," Playful said. "No pranks for a while."

"Yeah I agree," she huffed sadly. "There is no way I could be sneaky, or run away fast enough for us to be our usual level of awesome."

"Well we'll just do better next month," Playful said as they headed out.

"So I guess we'll be doing this together then," Independent Bear said as he approached Wish Bear.

She nodded, "Looks like it...Is it awkward for you? Cause it's awfully awkward for me." She gave a nervous laugh as she attempted to shield her stomach with her hands.

"It's difficult for me to wrap my head around. Are you embarrassed?" he asked.

"I don't know. I mean it's just a little odd, you know? Here I am without a boyfriend even and I'm magically expecting a child. But no, I don't suppose I'm embarrassed," Wish admitted.

"So, your place then?" Indy asked.

She nodded, "That sounds good."

"Alright," Indy replied. "I'll try to be more open about things, but at least I can provide," he added as they headed out of the hall of Hearts.

"I'm told I'm an excellent listener. And since we are getting graded on this, I want you to tell me just what you need to make this experience more real for you," Wish told him.

"Alright. I'm sure you'll tell me what I need to do shortly," Indy said.

Love-a-Lot and Valiant had made it back to Love-a-Lot's house and were sitting on her porch swing, moving it gently back and forth. "Do you want kids Valiant?" she asked him. It wasn't something they'd ever really discussed,

"I guess, eventually, not this soon though. I haven't really thought about it," he admitted.

"I have a little. I know I want at least two girls and maybe a boy." She replied, looking dreamy for a moment. "I just love little girl's clothes. They are so precious!"

"You've given this a lot of thought," Valiant said, putting an arm around her. "I guess this way we'll know what it's like." He opened the booklet they'd been given and began skimming through it.

Love-a-Lot curled into his side, resting a paw on his chest and her head on his shoulder. "I didn't think about this stuff till we got back together. Just know that."

"Guess it's good we did then," Valiant gave her a soft kiss.

~~~

"Cheer, com'on why won't you talk to me?" Champ had to jog to catch up to Cheer as she hurried out of the hall.

"Because this is a stupid assignment! They just pulled this on us without any warning! And I'm a fat cow now!" She wailed back at him. Feeling a few tears leak from her eyes she swiped a hand over them. "Just leave me alone, Champ. I will make due till this horrible thing is over."

Champ finally caught up to Cheer and put out a hand on her shoulder to stop her so he could run around to her front. "Cheer, you're not a cow and you're not going to do this alone, I'm gonna be there for you."

"But I don't want this! Not yet anyway!" Her lip was quivering now, "We are young and in love and have every right to enjoy that. Plus we've been responsible and now I can barely hug you, all because of this!" She placed her hands on either side of her tummy. "I bet that Guidance Heart gave me twins on purpose!"

Champ leaned over and hugged her, not caring about the irritation that leaning so far caused. "I don't believe that, but even so I'll help you through this in any way I can." He wiped some more tears away from her eyes, "Just don't cry, Cheery."

A wet laugh/sniffle came from her, "I like when you call me Cheery. I'm sorry Champ, I just so did not expect today to go this way." Reaching up she wiped her eyes as well.

"None of us did. Now com'on, if it'll make you feel better we can stay at your place for this," Champ offered.

Her eyes began to overflow again, "So I can stare at all the cute outfits I can't fit into anymore! No way! Besides, your bed is comfier."

"Alright, my house it is," Champ said, letting her go so he could walk beside her.

Cheer took his hand, "I promise by tomorrow I will be better. I just need to adjust."

Champ decided not to mention that the symptoms Guidance had mentioned hadn't set in quite yet.

~~~

"So how do you feel about this?" Defiant asked. He, Lotsa, Secret and Friend were walking together out of the Hall of Hearts.

Lotsa grinned, "I'm excited! I love babies! I sit for the twins all the time. Secret?" She whispered something in his ear which made him laugh, "I hope it's as quiet as you too! That would make our lives much easier. Friend?" He asked Secret's girlfriend.

"It could be," Friend said, smiling. "So should we go to your house, Defiant."

"Better not. I haven't been keeping it tidy lately," Defiant admitted.

"Alright, my house it is then," Friend said.

"And I imagine you two want to be near each other, so how about I go there too." Lotsa knew the two had lived together even before they were lovers. "Then it really would be like we were a big happy gay family," Lotsa said brightly.

"All four of us in the same house?" Defiant was taken aback.

"That's a great idea, Lotsa!" Friend gave the elephant a friendly kiss on the cheek.

"Dawwww." He blushed rubbing the back of his head, "I get them every once in a while, and this way Defiant and I can compare notes and help each other help you two." Secret seemed to like this idea and gave a thumbs up.

"Good thing we have a hidabed at our house, you two can take that one," Friend said.

After all the pamphlets had been handed out, Harmony had plopped herself down in a chair while propping her feet up on another. "Whew! Maybe this will get easier the more used to it I get."

"You doin alright darlin?" Brave Heart came up to her smiling.

"I guess. Gonna take me a bit to get into this groove but it's all good. What do you got there?" She was referring to his arm, which was hidden behind his back.

Grinning he pulled it out, displaying a bouquet of flowers. "Are those for me?" She asked holding her hand out for them and smiling.

He nodded, "Stared them up as soon as I could." Handing them to Harmony, Brave Heart pulled up another chair to sit on.

"Aww daddio, these are slammin sweet. I am so lucky to have you in my music bar." Leaning over with her free hand on her belly she gave him a kiss.

Brave Heart kissed her back, "Figured I owed you an apology for gettin all dopey earlier."

"It's all good man. Ain't no secret to me how bad you want to be a dad." She told him with a smile.

He rested a hand on her stomach, "Yeah but I know how you like to play it cool an' mellow. I should have held off till we were alone."

Harmony glanced around, "Well we're alone now. Lay me out some of those baby talk rhymes." Brave Heart laughed and kissed her again.

"So how do you feel Gentle Heart?" Bright Heart asked as they walked back to his house.

"Heavy and different. I don't think I really have a word for it yet," she told him.

"Other than pregnant?" Bright Heart asked. "I'll try to do my best but I'll be busy making the eggbabies for a few days so everything's ready in a couple weeks."

"Do you think Grumpy would help you if you asked him?" Gentle asked.

"I can try, if you don't mind spending time with Swift Heart while we do it," Bright Heart said. "Sorry about this but I don't want to be unfinished when we get to the end of this part."

Gentle Heart giggled, "Why would I mind spending time with Swift Heart? And I understand. I think I can manage mostly on my own. Don't worry." She kissed his cheek.

Bright Heart smiled and kissed her back, "I'll work as fast as I can to get it done as soon as possible," he reassured her.

"How and why did you come up with this idea?" Anger Heart asked as he and Guidance headed back to their shared house.

"It just came to me during the teacher's meeting, and I thought it would alleviate True Heart's fears," Guidance said, smiling. She stumbled a bit and almost fell forwards before Anger Heart caught her.

"Yeah well it's just ridiculous, why now and everyone at once?" Anger Heart asked as they slowed their pace back to their house.

"Why not now? It could be fun and this way we have something more interesting than normal school work," Guidance said.

"While we still have normal school work," Anger Heart muttered.

"Oh lighten up, Anger. I bet I can give you a run for your money when my mood swings set in," Guidance grinned.

"Oh lord…" Anger Heart groaned again as they finally made it to their house.

Treat Heart had convinced Birthday to stay in her house so she would have access to the kitchen. Currently she was in there making a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Stress always made her hungry, whether she was fake pregnant or not.

Birthday was in the kitchen with her, he was munching on an apple as she worked. "Any idea what you'll be craving when the cravings set in?" he asked.

Treat Heart shook her head, momentarily licking peanut butter off her spoon. "No idea. As it is I eat almost everything so I can't imagine it'll be too wacky. Although, brussel sprouts are not my favorite so I hope it's not them."

"You and me both, Birthday grimaced before finishing his apple and tossing the core in the compost. He came up behind Treat Heart and put his arms around her tummy. "It feels amazing from here, how does it feel for you?" he asked.

Feeling his arms around her she relaxed a great deal. "Much better now. Honestly, it's kinda cool, in a weird sort of way. I felt it move almost right away and it freaked me out at first."

"How did Guidance even do that?" Birthday asked, "All this magic stuff really makes no sense."

She shrugged, "No idea. I know barely anything about this kind of stuff. But True Heart seems to think it's pretty accurate to the real thing."

"Well that's good. I hope we have enough food to get through the next two weeks," Birthday said, still hugging Treat Heart from behind.

She giggled again, bringing her hands down to rest on top of Birthdays arms. "Well that's why I have you. For late night grocery runs."

"I hope Bedtime can help with that, I'm not so good driving at night," Birthday admitted.

"I'll bet he can. Oh! There it goes again!" Pressing down on Birthday's left arm she held it even tighter against her stomach so he could feel the fake baby moving.

"Wow!" Birthday was surprised, "That feels so neat. I bet it feels better from your end though."

The slight wiggling turned into a sharp pang, making her grunt. "I wouldn't be so sure of that."

"Oh well. I'll do whatever I can, Treat," Birthday gave her a kiss.

~~~

"Really, you two I don't need any help walking," Calm Heart insisted as Perfect and Tenderheart walked on either side of her, holding her arms.

"Nonsense Calm. As the fathers of your baby it is our job and pleasure to see to it that you have things as easy as possible," Tenderheart told her warmly.

"And we're going to do everything in our power to make sure you're absolutely comfortable for the next two weeks. We'll be at your beck and call," Perfect added.

"Well since your house is bigger we should spend our time there, but where will I sleep?" Calm Heart asked.

"Oh our bed is big enough for three," Perfect said, waving off the lynx's concerns.

"And very comfortable. Plus there are lots of pillows in case you need to support a sleeping position." Perfect and Calm both looked at him in surprise.

Tender Heart blushed slightly, "I did a little research after our meeting this morning."

"Aww Tender, that's so sweet of you," Perfect said.

"Yes it is, Tenderheart, thank you," Calm Heart smiled as she complimented the bear.

Tenderheart beamed, "Well I like to be prepared."

"It's nice to know there are some people up here who plan ahead," Calm Heart said as they arrived at Tenderheart and Perfect's house. "You would not believe how hard I had to work to keep our band on schedule and out of financial trouble when we were first starting out back on earth, not that I didn't enjoy doing that."

Tenderheart flicked on the light, "What's ours is yours for the next month. I don't want you to feel bashful about using anything. All I ask is you try not to make a mess I'm sort of the fuss budget about that." He shrugged, "At least that's what the others tell me."

"Oh you know you are, Tender," Perfect gave him a kiss.

"Don't worry, the only place I can tolerate a mess is our music studio, and even then it's more 'organised chaos," Calm Heart reassured them. "Just excuse me,

I need to use the bathroom."

"It's next to our bedroom," Perfect pointed towards the rear of the house.

"Thanks, Perfect," Calm Heart hurried to the bathroom.

Share closed the door to her house and watched Snowy as he moved into her living room. "You still haven't said anything," she gently reminded him.

"I'm just not sure what to say," Snowy admitted. "Beyond 'I'll be here to help you'."

She nodded, "I figured as much. You always have before." Reaching forward she took his hands "but this assignment is for both of us to learn from. So I need you to know I will be there for you too."

"Thanks Share. So what should we do right now?" Snowy asked, "I'm not too sure how we should start handling this. Should I wait for you to really need something?"

Share shrugged, "I'm okay for now I think."

"OK." Snowy sat down on Share's couch, still unsure what to say.

Share went to her bedroom to find something more comfortable to wear. She closed her door slightly but with enough of a gap she could still talk to Snowy. "Have you ever changed a diaper before?"

"Yeah. I babysat for Trust a couple times," Snowy replied.

"Well that's good! I bet a bunch of guys can't!" Deciding on a long skirt and t-shirt that had once been fairly loose she rejoined him.

"Comfortable?" Snowy asked. A thought struck him, "I should probably run home at some point and get some of my clothes."

Share slowly sat down, one hand supporting her stomach, "Yes I am. You could probably go now. Really I'm fine."

"Thanks Share," Snowy gave her a kiss, "but to be safe I'm going to use a screen step to get there and back." Snowy stood up and headed for the door, "See you in a few minutes."

As he disappeared Share lay back and closed her eyes, "what a day."

"Well they all seemed to take it rather well, all things considered," Noble Heart commented. He, True Heart and Loyal Heart were seated around a small table in the Hall of Heart's kitchen while Proud Heart poured tea for all of them.

True Heart was the first to take a drink. "This is good, Proud Heart. Where did you get it?"

"I grew it myself," Proud Heart beamed as she sat down and took a drink of her own. "My garden isn't just for show."

"Well let's hope they keep taking it well." Loyal Heart looked up at the wall clock, "If Guidance's Heart's estimation was correct the pregnancy symptoms should be setting in any minute now."

"Well that's why they have the weekend to get used to it," Noble Heart said. "Though we'll probably hear a lot of commotion from outside for the next little while." The founder paused, taking another drink, before she asked, "Do you think this was too much and too sudden?"

Proud Heart shook her head, "Not at all. Pregnancy can be shocking an unexpected so having this strike them so suddenly is quite appropriate. Besides I think two weeks is fair enough for them considering how long the _actual_ process is." Loyal Heart winced suddenly, a hand going to his chest.

"Don't worry, Loyal," Proud Heart gave her husband a kiss, "I won't scratch you this time when I get cranky."

"It's alright, milady," Loyal Heart said, "And you are correct, this should keep them from any accidents for the foreseeable future, at least I hope it does."

"If it doesn't then this could all be a waste of time." Noble Heart sighed.

"It's not a waste of time dear," True Heart reassured him, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze, "Some of them might want to start families even this early in life, once we've finished with school at least.

"Well, we should get going soon. We need to set an example and spend as much time with our children as possible if we expect everyone else to take this project seriously," Proud Heart said, standing up.

"Agree," Noble Heart nodded as the rest of them stood, up. "I'll just wash the dishes and meet you at home, True Heart, alright."

"That's fine," True Heart gave him a kiss before she, Loyal Heart and Proud Heart headed out of the hall.

As Noble Heart was cleaning the dishes he could swear he heard cursing and a number of cries of dismay through the open window over the sink. "Sounds like it's begun. Good luck everyone."


	21. Family Care Arc, part 2

Chapter 21

Most people would never use the word sappy when describing Grumpy Bear. He wasn't one of those guys who did overly "squishy" things for anyone. Sure he gave Swift Heart his jacket and helped out his family members on projects but those weren't things love songs were written over and he preferred it that way. He didn't want to be known for doing grand gestures that made girls swoon or for doing a guy a favor that made them owe him their life or anything like that. It was just too ridiculous to him. He wasn't sappy, he wasn't sentimental really, and he certainly didn't have a soft spot.

But then again that's why he had this secret. A secret that was all his own and he would be damned if anyone ever found out about it, for then he would truly be named a sappy bear.

Today, just like so many days recently, Grumpy opened his eyes with the sun as it broke the horizon. Soft light filtered in through the bedroom window allowing him to just make out Swift Heart's face resting inches from his own. Her one hand was folded up under her cheek, supporting her head while the other lay upturned by her nose. It took all his strength to not reach out and stroke her cheek. This was his favorite moment of the day, when everything was new and nothing had been determined yet. Any negativity from yesterday was washed away leaving every opportunity for new dreams and goals to be fulfilled. Nothing was claimed, nothing was owned, no one had anything set in stone. And this was his biggest secret, the secret that if ever leaked would soften whatever hard edged self-respect he had.

This time of the day was his favorite because it was the only moment when Swift Heart belonged to him and only him.

In the sanctuary of this bedroom it was just them. It was serene and quiet and she was lying so peacefully next to him. Not running away on some mission, or wandering the halls of school without him. Brave Heart wasn't yanking her away for an impromptu Cousins training nor was Fauna yelling for her over some crisis or another. She was his, all his. Even with whatever those things were that were resting in her belly, now in this moment she was here only for Grumpy.

Something in her dreams made her sigh and scoot closer to Grumpy. Their noses gently rested together making Grumpy smile softly. Ever so gently he kissed her lips. "I love you. My Swift Heart." Attempting to get a few more hours of sleep he closed his eyes, still smiling.

Now more than ever, Champ was thankful that he was an early riser. He checked to make sure Cheer was still sleeping peacefully before getting up and moving to take a shower before she got up. Normally he would have woken Cheer up for something like this but with that fake pregnancy affecting her he wanted a few moments of peace to get ready for the day. He shampooed his fur and dried as fast as he could before pulling out some clothes to dress in.

Cheer heard Champ pulling open drawers and looking for his clothes like he did every morning. Only this morning, he seemed to be doing it extra loudly. Groaning she buried her head in the pillow, "Jeesh Champ could you make any more noise?"

"Sorry, Cheer, didn't mean to wake you," Champ finally found a pair of shorts and a t-shirt for the day and dressed himself as quickly as he could.

"Wait? Where are you going?" She opened one eye and saw him ready to bolt for the door.

"To cook breakfast," Champ replied.

She smiled at him, "Aww really? You are just about the sweetest guy ever!"

"Thanks Cheer, just call if you need anything," Champs added before vanishing into the kitchen.

"Time to see if Illusion's classes have paid off," he said, rubbing his hands together and grabbing and tying an apron on before he fished out the cookbook and turned to the page for pancakes. "Better make at least a triple recipe," he said before grabbing the flour out of the cupboard.

Finding it impossible to fall back asleep Cheer began trying to sit up. Unable to bend nearly as much as she needed to Cheer grunted as she slid herself up slowly using her arms. "I was hoping you'd be just a bad dream." She told her stomach. Swinging her legs over the edge she got to her feet, wobbling slightly. Once stable she headed for the bathroom to shower. On the way, one of the "cubs" moved making Cheer shudder, "That is going to take some getting used to."

Thankfully it seemed that Illusion's lessons had indeed paid off. Champ had already finished mixing the pancake batter and was pouring it into the frying pan as he heard the shower come on. He had to resist the urge to do something stupid, like turn up the heat, and he waited carefully before flipping the first batch of pancakes over and, after a couple minutes, turning them out on to a plate before starting on the next batch.

Any hope Cheer had of her shower being relaxing was soon dashed. It was hard for her to bend and grab things and the space made turning difficult. Several times her belly bumped against the cold wall making her jump. Finally finishing she returned to the bedroom and began looking through the clothes Champ had gotten for her from her house. Ten more minutes passed before Cheer waddled into the kitchen in a sweater she wasn't at all fond of and a pair of yoga pants.

Her mood brightened slightly as she smelt food. "Something smells great boo."

"Pancakes!" Champ declared. He'd put about a dozen on a large plate on the table with syrup readily at hand. He'd set three aside for himself, which he was munching on as he continued with the last of the batter he had left, reasoning that leftovers would be a good idea.

"Are you serious? You think I'm going to eat all that?" Cheer pointed at the tower of pancakes, scowling.

Champ gulped, thankfully covered by the mouthful he had swallowed, "Well the book said that most pregnant woman don't really know their own hunger at first, and since this is a special case I figured it was better to have too much than not enough." He smiled nervously, hoping to avoid an incident.

"If you think I am going to be downing 12 pancakes and then some just because of Guidance Heart's spell you-" She was cut off as her stomach gurgled, clearly disagreeing. Cheer blushed, "Well maybe a few extra wouldn't hurt. After all you've worked so hard on them." Picking up her fork she took a bite.

"And if there's any left we can always have leftovers. Illusion says they're good cold," Champ said. He sighed in relief that Cheer was at least taking this better than he thought she would.

"That was a really good idea," she told him while chewing. It didn't seem to occur to her she had gone through so many mood swings already.

"So how'd I do? Illusion says I'm passable but it feels like he's got impossible standards so I'd like your opinion, Cheery," Champ said, as he flipped his current batch.

"I think they are awesome Champ, you did just fine. Don't listen to that overgrown gecko he thinks he is the end all word in cooking. Well I got news for him, not everyone likes so many spices in their food," she stated matter-of-factly.

"I know exactly what you mean, Cheer," Champ said as he turned out his current batch on to another plate and poured the last of the batter into the pan. "Snowy ran out of class once and I think he doused his head in the rainbow river after tasting something he cooked with Jalapenos."

"I know exactly what you mean, Cheer," Champ said as he turned out his current batch on to another plate and poured the last of the batter into the pan. "Snowy ran out of class once and I think he doused his head in the rainbow river after tasting something he cooked with Jalapenos."

Cheer rolled his eyes, "My point exactly. Although, I do looooooove his crepes. Mmmmm." Her mouth was watering as she thought about them.

"Sorry, I'm not quite good enough to make those yet," Champ apologized.

Chewing she shook her head, "It's okay Champ. I don't need them every day, these are just fine." Taking some butter she spread them on her pancakes.

Champ finally finished with the last of the pancake batter and he dumped the mixing bowl in the sink to wash later. "There, so how are ya doing, Cheery?" he asked as he turned to join her with the last two on his own side plate.

She had eaten about five pancakes so far. "I think I owe you an apology. I was hungrier than I thought."

"Don't be afraid to go nuts, I doubt any of the other girls will be holding back," Champ reassured her as he poured some syrup on his own and began to eat, watching Cheer as she started to really dig in.

He was right and they had been told there would be no lasting effects from the spell. Plus it was an assignment grading them on how good of parents they'd be and a good mom fed her babies.

Champ wolfed down his own pancakes then got up and grabbed the journal off the counter. He began to write in it as Cheer finished up her plate and grabbed for the last of the batch. He wrote down that they had pancakes for breakfast and that Cheer had eaten... he watched her finish off the pancakes before writing 20 down.

"Oh wow, did I really eat all 20 of those?" Cheer asked feeling a bit embarrassed.

"You did, no leftovers I guess," Champ said, closing the book. "So are you still hungry?" he asked.

"Hmm," Cheer patter her tummy, "I'm not full but I'm not craving anything else just yet. But we can solve that later, we have to get ready."

"Ready for what?" Champ asked as he cleared the table.

"Shopping of course!" Cheer spoke as if it should be the most obvious thing in the world, "I need something a lot better than this to wear for the next two weeks and I know I won't be the only one wanting to get a new outfit or three for this assignment."

"Oh right," Champ smacked himself in the forehead, of course she'd need maternity clothes for this. "Well I'll just clean up from breakfast and we can meet up with some of the other couples for a trip to earth."

Harmony was just finishing up her phone call with Cheer. "Sounds like a solid plan cheer we'll be at the hall in ten minutes. Huh? Yea yeah I'll call them. Later." Hanging up the phone she called into the house, "Brave Heart we are leaving in ten minutes to go shopping." While she waited for a response she began dialing Wish Bear's number.

"OK. Shopping for clothes?" Brave Heart called back.

"You got it." Wish answered and Harmony focused on her. "Hey girl. I'm calling you to tell you we are going down to earth to buy clothes that fit for the next few days... yeah he better come... no idea...probably... right again... yup hall, ten minutes. Later girl." She hung up and went to dial her other two numbers.

"How's Wish handling Independent Bear?" Brave Heart asked, having approached while she was dialing.

Harmony shrugged, phone still against her ear. "She seems a little hesitant but you know home girl never complains."

"Yeah. Think they'll get together for real?" Brave Heart asked.

Again Harmony shrugged, "No idea boo." Friend failed to answer the phone so she hung up and began dialing Funshine's number. "But we aren't getting involved. No pressure on them or they'll freak, guaranteed."

"Wish will, can't say about Indy. I don't think anyone can read that guy," Brave Heart said.

"Agreed. I barely understand him." Shifting the phone to her other hand she dropped her right one down to briefly rub her tummy.

A cheerful, "Good Mooooooorrrrrnnnniiiiinnnnngggg" sounded through the phone, making Harmony hold it away from her ear.

"Too early Funshine! Tone it down to marching band level."

The yellow bear laughed, "Sorry Harmony. I thought you'd appreciate the song."

"Hahaha... so funny. Anyway, I was told to call and tell you we are all going maternity clothes shopping, if you are inclined to go."

"Oh good idea! I need a few more options. I'll get Playful. Want me to call anyone else?"

"Yes please. Cover the cousin girls if you would."

"You got it. See you soon!" Funshine hung up the phone on her end and Harmony did too.

Turning to Brave Heart she asked, "You ready?"

"As long as you are." Brave Heart moved closer and rubbed Harmony's tummy, "You ready too?" he directed his question at Harmony's swollen tummy.

Harmony smirked, "I don't think it has much of a choice. When I move, it moves just like that!" She snapped her fingers in emphasis.

As if in response the "child" kicked her from within. "I can see that," Brave Heart smirked. "I'll get a car ready."

"Thanks. I'll get granola bars just in case." Kissing his cheek she moved past him into the kitchen.

"Alright," Brave Heart headed outside and conjured a cloud car as he waited for Harmony.

Phone calls were made and soon enough everyone had gathered in front of the Hall of Hearts. Most of them were discussing how the first night had gone. A few of the girls were saying they'd had trouble finding a comfortable position but overall it sounded positive.

"I can't believe how hungry I was this morning, Love Heart didn't get anything before we were called," Confidence said to Swift Heart, "How about you?"

She nodded, "I couldn't even get the eggs on my plate fast enough. Eventually I just started to eat them right out the pan."

"I hope they were fully cooked at least." Confidence grimaced at the thought of eating raw eggs.

"Oh please Confidence. I can't even eat sushi because it's raw. My hamburgers have to be almost charbroiled. I just added more to the frying pan at a time then I usually do and I managed to make Grumpy some too," Swift Heart reassured her.

"I've gotta work on my cooking skills," Confidence admitted.

"I hope there's a hardware store wherever we go," Anger Heart commented.

"And why do you want that?" Guidance questioned.

"Well, I was thinking I could get some wood to try and put together a crib or two," Anger Heart said.

Grumpy had overheard and asked, "Really? You are making cribs? For only two weeks of having these egg things?"

"Well I thought I could give it to Proud Heart when we're done," Anger Heart said.

"Aww, that's sweet of you," Guidance said.

"Yeah I guess that makes sense," he acknowledged. Swift Heart had caught his eye and mouthed

"Be nice." He scowled at her and tried again, "If you need help I could give you a hand."

"Thanks. We'll start looking when we get down to earth," Anger Heart said.

"Looks like everyone's here," Brave Heart said, "Let's get goin'!" The group divided into their cloudmobiles and took off.

Once down at the store, a few guys opted to go elsewhere, but a surprising number wanted to hang with their partners. Inside the store the girls took their time finding the right sections for their individual style. For Swift Heart, that meant leggings and simple shirts. Cozy and Funshine opted to go with her as well.

"I'm actually surprised. Some of this stuff isn't totally hideous." Swift Heart commented as she looked through the racks.

Cozy nodded, "Yeah. I think desssignersss finally realized pregnant momsss want to look good too."

Funshine shuddered, "Phew, did that sentence freak anyone else out? I mean we are totally expectant moms for the next two weeks. Weird."

Swift Heart nodded, "Yeah that's starting to sink in for me too. How about this?"

Cozy and Funshine looked over at the top she held up. "Yeah it's cute! If it will fit, I think you should get it." Funshine told her.

Swift Heart sighed, "Yeah we'll see how that goes." She continued to look through the racks. Cozy had located maternity swimsuits and was looking them over.

"You can still keep these after this project's over, for when you want to have kids for real," Playful suggested. He had come with his girlfriend, knowing he'd end up as a pack mule but not wanting to force them to carry what they ended up with.

"If itsss sssstill in ssstyle. I probably won't be doing thisss for real for a while."

Jolly popped up from a rack of dresses making Cozy jump in surprise. "No worries love, OI think you'll be aces. You should get this lil' numbah."

He held up a short silver dress. Cozy shook her head, "No way. But good try."

"So what are you thinking of, Sunshine?" Playful asked.

"Just some larger t-shirts and a few pairs of jeans. I don't need anything fancy, I barely have any fancy clothes as it is now," she told him.

"You don't need to be fancy, Sunshine," Playful reassured her, giving Funshine a kiss on the cheek.

"Super true! What would you do with a fancy girlfriend anyway?" She asked with a giggle.

"Wish I could tell you," Funshine bent over and gave Funshine's huge tummy a kiss.

"Geeze, hungry Love Heart?" Anger Heart asked as the green bear practically shoved a sub sandwich into his mouth while he was seated in the outdoor food court.

Love Heart swallowed before answering, "I didn't get anything to eat this morning."

"Why not? Did you sleep too late?" Grumpy asked him.

"Yeah, I was just tired for some reason and I couldn't get to any food before Confidence went nuts in the kitchen. I'm not crazy enough to get in the way of a hungry pregnant lady who knows karate," Love Heart replied.

"Well, good luck with that, Love Heart," Anger Heart said, "But I'm not surprised, Confidence got twins too like our girlfriends." Anger Heart turned to Grumpy, "Should we try to find that hardware store now?" he asked.

"If you want to get stuff to make that crib then yeah. I think I saw one on the way in this way." He pointed up an adjacent street. "Swift Heart was pretty normal this morning. I didn't notice anything odd anyway."

"Guidance has got it pretty under control, but it helps that I'm doing all the cooking," Anger Heart said as they headed towards the hardware store.

Grumpy snorted. "She rarely trusts me to cook for her. Here it is." He pointed out the store across the street.

"Looks good," Anger Heart made it to the crosswalk first and hit the button. "So are you going to get anything here?"

"Maybe some things I need for my own side projects. I won't be building a crib or anything." Grumpy told Anger.

"So what are you working on?" Anger Heart asked as they crossed the street and headed into the hardware store.

"Redoing my kitchen. Building a Jacuzzi for Champ, helping make an amphitheatre for Harmony, and fixing the playground for the cubs."

Anger Heart smiled as he grabbed one of the trolleys set aside for the customers to transport wood, "Sounds like fun. Want some help?" he offered.

Grumpy was taken aback. "Seriously? You want to help? No one ever wants to help me."

"Of course. My grandpa encouraged me to get back into woodworking and carpentry when I went to see him. Maybe even learn a couple more trades while I'm at it," Anger Heart said.

Grumpy shook his head, "Go figure. Yea sure you can help." They reached the aisle of wood. "Do you know what you want?"

"Yup, can you give me a hand with the lifting?" he asked as he pushed the cart down the aisle.

"Yup." He followed the fox down the aisle. "You think anyone else will be building stuff?"

"Maybe Bright Heart? Or is he more about the design than the construction?" Anger Heart asked.

"Heh. Definitely more design. He'd like to think He can build anything but it doesn't always end well." Grumpy said with a gwauf.

Anger laughed as he picked out a piece of wood he liked, checking it for knots and cracks before choosing it, "Here give me a hand with this one, Grumpy, please." Nodding he grabbed the other end and lifted it with Anger to the trolley.

"You know what I'm sick of?" Anger Heart asked as they set the board on the trolley.

"Besides splinters?" Grumpy asked as he pulled one out of his hand before it could stick in.

"Those too, but I'm sick of everyone acting like the two of us being in the same room together will be like mixing vinegar, baking soda and nitro-glycerine." Anger Heart groaned, "I mean do they have no faith in us at all?"

Grumpy couldn't help but laugh at his analogy. "No I don't think they do. I think it's because we are so alike and that makes us different from them."

"Yeah well, we're showing them now aren't we?" Anger Heart's managed to laugh as well before he grabbed another good piece of wood and they loaded it onto their trolley.

Back in the store Cheer's moods seemed to be stabilizing. A good shopping trip always made her feel better. Opening the dressing room door she showed off her current top, a nice floral print 3/4 sleeve with an empire waist "What do you guys think?" Smoothing her hands down her belly she held them under the bottom.

Share smiled, "Very you Cheer!"

"Love it, defiantly get it," Love-a-Lot said as she finally picked out a long loose blouse with a tropical pattern on it, "What do you think?" she asked the others.

"That would go great with some dark jeans!" Share grabbed hear a pair with the elastic waistband.

"Perfect! Just give me a minute to squeeze into these." Love-a-Lot took the jeans and headed into the changing rooms.

Over in the more monochromatic section Harmony was chewing on a granola bar and looking for a good pair of black jeans. "Harmony why not these turquoise ones?" Perfect asked holding them up.

Harmony gagged, "I know I can't get morning sickness but those are getting me pretty close."

Brave Heart chuckled. "I think these'll fit." Brave Heart managed to find a pair of black jeans with little silver music notes over the pockets, "what do you think Harmony?"

"Perfection." Taking them she looked to Perfect, "I appreciate your view but it's in a different key then mine. Brave Heart hears it so follow his lead." She kissed Brave Heart's cheek and moved onto another rack.

"You could offer me some advice," Calm Heart spoke up. "Truth be told I'm not much for fashion."

Perfect smiled and moved off, "You are so lucky to be the color you are. Brown goes with anything." He grabbed a white skirt and a mint green sleeveless blouse that had pink flowers on it and was sheer. He then chose a pale yellow tank to go under it. "Thoughts?" He held up the outfit for her inspection.

"Looks good, I'll give it a try." Calm Heart accepted the clothes and headed for an unoccupied fitting room.

"Tender you find anything?"

"I think so." He held up an outfit for Perfect to see.

The panda blanched, it looked like it was made for a woman much older and stuffier then Calm Heart. "I don't think that's her honey." Tenderheart frowned and put it back.

It was a couple minutes before Calm Heart emerged, wearing the ensemble Perfect had picked out for her. "What do you think?" she asked everyone present.

"Oh it's lovely! It brings out your eyes!" Cheer gushed.

Treat Heart giggled, "And the shirt makes you look smaller."

"Thank you, especially you Perfect," Calm Heart gave the panda a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"It's no big deal, but you're welcome," Perfect said. "Now Treat Heart, what do you think you're looking for?"

"Ummm probably a dress of some sort. I'm curvy as it is and pants are always hard to find," she told him.

"I think I saw just the think a couple stand this way," Perfect said, leading Treat Heart towards what he had found.

Calm Heart took a seat next to Cheer, on one of the benches. "This was a great idea, Cheer. So how do you feel about all of this?" Calm Heart asked.

"I still think it's crazy! I would have liked a little more prep time then ten minutes, you know it's a big transition. Literally." She patted her tummy. "But it's only for a while, so I'm going to just deal with it. You?"

"I'm managing," Calm patted her own smaller mock-pregnant tummy.

"So how was spending the night with Tenderheart and Perfect? Like… where did you sleep?" Cheer asked.

"Oh I slept with them, in their bed," Calm Heart replied.

That raised Cheer's brows and got Share and Love a Lots attention. "Seriously? You did?" Cheer asked her.

"They insisted and I slept between them," Calm Heart confirmed.

"And it wasn't odd? Like at all!" Love-a-Lot asked.

"Well, all things considered..." Calm Heart rubbed her tummy, which 'kicked' in response, "it wasn't the oddest thing to happen yesterday. Those two are very devoted to my well-being."

"I suppose having two people to cater to you would be nice," Share mused.

Friend was nearby and stepped in, having overheard, "Plus they never know if this will happen again, ya know? Because they are both guys."

"Yeah they want to make sure they do it right. I get it," Cheer agreed.

"Speaking of which, how are things with Defiant, Friend?" Calm Heart asked.

"We slept in separate beds but I'm trying to keep things as positive as I can," she told Calm Heart.

"That's good. How's Secret handling time at Lotsa's house?" Cheer asked.

Friend smiled at her girlfriend briefly, "She's doing good. She's trying real hard to communicate with him." Secret nodded in agreement. "And Lotsa is such a sweet heart. He's trying his best to make her happy."

"You mean Lotsa and Secret are still living with you?" Calm Heart guessed.

Secret nodded and Friend spoke, "Yup! It was Lotsa's idea, said he didn't want to separate us if we didn't want to be, plus he doesn't want to be apart from Defiant for too long."

"Lotsa is going to be very good for Defiant. He's the energy he needs right now: Positive, low key, and humorous," Harmony voiced. She had her chosen outfits draped over her arm and was ready to check out.

Swift Heart, Cozy, and Funshine were at the register currently. The cashier was smiling at them, clearly amused by this situation. "So you ladies all look like you're due at the same time. Quite a coincidence."

"Think of it as a group experiment. We are supposed to be using this as a crash course in child rearing," Swift Heart told her as she took the bag.

"Ahhhh now I get it. I did something similar in high school. We just had to keep a bag of flour alive though for a week. No need for new clothes."

"Lucky. I would love a bag of flour right about now," Swift Heart responded while rubbing her lower back making the cashier laugh. Swift Heart moved to the store entrance found a bench to rest on while she waited for the others.

"I was really tempted to tell the cashier exactly what was going on, but she'd probably have freaked," Confidence Heart said as she joined Swift Heart. She looked up and waved to Love Heart, who had just finished shoving the last of his brunch into his mouth and swallowing.

"Did you girls have any luck in there?" Love Heart asked as he approached.

Swift Heart nodded, resting a hand on her belly, "As much as can be expected." To Confidence she said, "And yeah I think she only needed the bare bones of information. No need to overload her."

"Definitely." Confidence nodded.

"So where's Grumpy?" Swift Heart asked Love Heart.

"He and Anger Heart went to the hardware store." Love Heart pointed to the large building some distance away, "Don't know when they'll be back."

Swift Heart got to her feet. "Well I don't do good with waiting so I think I'll go check on him."

"Is Anger Heart with him?" Guidance Heart asked as she approached.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Love Heart asked.

"He was mentioning going to get hardware supplies all last night," Guidance said.

"You want to come too then? Or are you good here?" Swift Heart asked her.

"If you don't mind me tagging along," Guidance Heart said.

"Like you are going to slow me down." Swift teased as they began to walk off toward the hardware store.

"I have to go find some books then," Confidence said, "Gotta take a look at some tai'chi for pregnancy."

"Mind if I come along then?" Love Heart asked.

"Not at all," Confidence said. Love Heart helped her and they headed for the mall's book store.

"So how are you adjusting?" Guidance Heart asked Swift Heart as they headed for the crosswalk.

"Fine. I've stopped jumping every time I feel them move. That was really freaky," Swift Heart pressed the crosswalk button. "You?"

"Alright, mostly have to get used to the death glares I keep getting." Guidance sighed.

"Ha! From the other girls? Just ignore them. They are just sore because we didn't have any mental prep time or the option to not do this. And I'm not going to death glare you, but I wouldn't have minded a little heads up. It's a lot for anyone to go from 0 to 9 months in 5 seconds."

"Well True Heart said that real pregnancy can be a surprise as well so it would be best for this project for it to be a surprise too. And thanks, that's big of you considering how I've been treating you lately," Guidance Heart admitted.

Swift Heart glanced at her, "Yeah well since you realize you've been sort of a bitch to me maybe you could not be. That seems fair to me."

"Thanks. I guess the other magi have gotten over it, At least Take Care told me they're all feeling better. So bygones?" Guidance asked, offering a hand to her.

Swift Heart gripped her hand, "And then some. We both acted the way we did because our loved ones needed protecting."

"Speaking of loved ones," Guidance said as they entered the hardware store, immediately drawing stares from everyone at the entrance, "Any idea where Grumpy and Anger will be?"

Looking over the aisles signs she tried to find the one Grumpy would most likely spend time in. "If they are building stuff, probably wood. It's that way." Seeing one group of people staring she planted her hands on her hips, "What? Never seen a pregnant rabbit before? Come on Guidance." She moved away from the entrance.

Guidance just laughed as she followed Swift Heart, "Take a picture, it'll last longer," she added to the staring onlookers. A couple clicks from mobile phones directed at her and Swift Heart made her regret saying that.

Swift Hearts ears had flicked back in frustration upon hearing the cameras, "Maybe don't suggest things like that again." She was looking down the aisles now for her boyfriend.

"Sorry. Guess I forgot how many cell phones have cameras," Guidance apologized.

"I'm sure they will see someone wipe out in an embarrassing manner, or some cat doing something ridiculous and we will be yesterday's news," She told her. "I think I see them over there."

"Yep, that's them," Guidance Heart spotted the red fur of her boyfriend, both he and Grumpy examining some tools on display.

Walking up quietly behind Grumpy, Swift Heart stuck a finger in his back, "Hey you! What do you think you are doing with those?" She had dropped her voice a few octaves to disguise it. Grumpy went rigid and spun to confront his assailant.

Seeing Swift Heart he scowled, "What the hell Swift? You scared me. I thought you were clothes shopping."

She held up her bag, "We finished, and I got restless."

"You too, Guidance?" Anger Heart asked.

"Yup," Guidance held up her own bags. "So how'd you two make out here, got plenty of wood I see," she looked at the trolley behind them.

"Yeah seriously. What are you two up to with all that?"

"Stuff. Anger has a project and I'm giving him a hand." He looked at her stomach and pointed, "How's it going?"

"Fine. Same as this morning."

"Please don't say you're surprised we haven't taken the store down yet," Anger Heart pleaded with the girls.

"Wouldn't dream of it Anger. I'm more surprised Grumpy doesn't have the latest power tool in the check-out line yet. Normally he can't come to a hardware store without getting 'The latest tool' that can do several things the other 12 he has can't." Swift Heart said.

Seeing Grumpy scowl at her but not dispute the matter she laughed, "That was your next stop wasn't it? I am so good."

"Yeah well I bet I can guess exactly what you bought. Yoga pants, tank tops, and maybe one nice shirt." Now it was her turn to scowl and Grumpy's to laugh.

"He's got you there," Guidance Heart agreed, laughing too.

"So what did you get, Guidance?" Anger Heart asked.

"Just some long shirts and shorts, nothing fancy," Guidance replied.

"Do you boys need anything else?" Swift Heart asked.

"I think we're good," Anger Heart said. "What about you, Grumpy?"

"I'm ready." Moving to Swift Heart's side he took the clothing bag from her. "I got it."

"Such a gentleman," she teased him.

"Well I'm pushing the cart full of wood, I think that's heavy enough," Anger Heart said.

"Then I'll just put this here." Guidance set her bag on one of the trolley's empty spots.

At the checkout line Swift Heart added a few Butterfinger bars to Grumpy's items. "Thats okay right?"

He winked at her and added a few more. "You got it."

For her part, Guidance added some Kit-Kats to Anger's order, neither of them needed to exchange words.

The four of them rejoined the others in front of the clothing store. It seemed like everyone was ready to go except for Cheer. Champ was slumped down in a chair, mentally exhausted from reasoning with her. "Cheer they are both fine, just get both."

She was holding up two shirts, "But I still don't think I will need this one. And then it's a waste of money."

"They don't get that one."

She looked flummoxed, "But I look better in this one."

Champ gritted his teeth, "Then get it but not the other one."

She shook her head, now looking exhausted as well, "No I can't do that! It is perfect for everyday wear." Groaning Champ sunk down deeper.

"Should we help them?" Independent Bear asked, turning to Wish, who was eating a mint sundae from a nearby shop.

His question had caught her with the spoon in her mouth. Removing it and swallowing it quickly Wish blushed, "I think I could help them." Looking over at Cheer she said, "I Wish Cheer could find a way to choose a shirt."

A few seconds passed and then Cheer shouted in excitement, "Oh! This one is on sale! Now I can get both for the price of one." She left the mirror to go pay. Wish smiled and took another spoonful of ice cream.

Indy just stared from Cheer to Wish, "What was that?" he asked.

Playing innocent Wish asked, "What was what Indy?" She continued to eat her sundae.

Indy took a breath and spoke again, "I could feel something when you made that wish and what just happened, even Champ looks confused." Champ indeed was just staring, open mouthed, at Cheer.

"Oh that. Well, all I did was wish for Cheer to be able to make a decision. It sort of...ummmm...a gift I have?" She was trying to find words to describe it.

Indy instantly relaxed, "I understand. It's something unique that you can do. Does it always work?"

"If my wishes do not harm anyone or if I do not make them for selfish means then yes. Oh and if they aren't completely ridiculous. For example, if I said I wish for a million dollars, that wouldn't happen," she told him. "Why did you panic?"

"I'm just a bit wary of things I don't quite understand. Sorry Wish." Indy patted her tummy, "Want me to get you anything else before we go home?"

"I'm sorry I surprised you like that. I forget you didn't grow up with us." Smiling at him she added, "No I'm all ready to go."

"Alright," Indy turned and managed to conjure a cloudmobile for them.

Nearby Grumpy and Anger Heart had worked together to conjure a closed-bed cloud pickup truck so they could haul the wood they had bought back up without risking it falling out.

"Wow, I kind of like this design guys. It looks like Grumpy's truck from the alternate reality. Just a little…" Swift Heart told them as she looked over the truck.

"A little what?" Anger Heart asked as he and Grumpy began loading the wood into the back.

"Looks just a little like his truck. Except that one wasn't made out of clouds," Swift told him.

"Umm thanks?" Anger Heart shook his head rapidly to clear the confusion, "what _did_ that Truck look like?"

"Black Chevy 454 SS. 1990 year." Grumpy told him as he loaded the last of the wood.

Anger Heart stared at Grumpy for a moment before he managed, "Umm, so it was black."

"He's not much of a car guy," Guidance said, matter-of-factly. "Are there only two seats in this thing?" she asked.

"Even if there aren't there's no way I can get up into it. I can make us a cloud mobile and drive us home." Swift Heart told her.

Guidance nodded, "Sure, thanks Swift. I don't think I trust myself to drive right now."

Grumpy scowled, "I don't think I trust her to drive right now either. Are you going to be able to even reach the pedals?"

Turning her nose up at him Swift Heart proceeded to make a cloud mobile. She altered the console slightly so it tilted higher and the pedals came up closer to the seat. "You were saying?" She asked her boyfriend.

"I'm allowed to show concern you know Swift Heart. Not everything is a challenge you have to beat." Slamming the door he moved around to the other side of the truck. Anger Heart didn't bother commenting as he got into the passenger's side of the truck. Guidance did the same with Swift Heart's altered cloud car.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Swift Heart took her time getting settled, making sure the baby belly wouldn't get in the way. "And here I thought we were the ones with the mood swings." She muttered once she was comfy.

Guidance Heart giggled, "Well I'm sure ours will kick in later."

"It's going to be like the civil war all over again then in our houses, what with our boy's being volatile on their own," she responded as she took off.


	22. Family Care Arc, part 3

Chapter 22

Proud Heart stepped to the front of her girls only health class, with even Harmony and Guidance were in attendance. "Alright then everyone. While I do have a lesson set for today would anyone like to start with how this past weekend went for them?" she asked.

"Boys get weird around you when you're pregnant." Treat Heart said. Harmony nodded enthusiastically "Preach girl! I've never seen Brave Heart like this."

"Yeah, I know. Valiant's been asking me every five minutes if I need something," Love-a-Lot added.

"And Jolly keepsss wanting to touch my ssstomach. It wasss unerving at firssst, sssince he never ssshowed that area any attention before," Cozy voiced.

"That's good." Proud Heart nodded.

"Good?!" Confidence exclaimed.

"I mean, that's normal. Guys tend to react strangely when they first find out they're going to be dads." Proud Heart smiled, "I can't tell you how strange Loyal Heat acted when he first found out I was pregnant with Trust Heart."

"If memory serves, he got even more over protective of you. Which was saying something," Swift Heart recalled.

Gloria sighed, "Illusion is getting like that. He doesn't like me out of sight and he has been getting very twitchy when other guys have been around."

"Tenderheart and Perfect are very much the same way. They were even nervous about us going to separate classes," Calm Heart said.

"Well hopefully Loyal Heart can get them to tone it down a bit, but it is just how they show that they care," Proud Heart said.

Well if that's the case, I could use a little less caring from Grumpy. He's been fighting with me over almost everything," Swift Heart shared.

"What have you been arguing about?" Gentle Heart asked.

"Just stupid stuff. He doesn't want me doing stuff I'm used to doing: I have to force him to write in the journal, he's standoffish when I try to talk to him. That sort of stuff," Swift explained.

"Well everyone will react differently. Now then let's get started," Proud Heart opened her lesson plan. "Now I know you all experienced an increase appetite, did any of you have strange cravings?"

"Well I keep wanting to put relish on everything," Confidence Heart said.

Friend nodded, "Cauliflower. Just raw. Normally I never eat the stuff."

"Well they set in differently for everyone. My advice is just to go with it, even if it's not that healthy. Most of the time you'll be watching what you eat but if you ever deny these craving it'll just torture you. I, for one, ate a lot of raw fish," Proud Heart smirked as the grimaces some of them gave her. "In some cases you'll find your old favorite foods taste disgusting."

"Sad but true. Just the smell of grapefruit makes me feel nauseous," Funshine agreed with Proud Heart's statement.

"Well don't worry, it'll pass after the pregnancy is over," Proud Heart reassured them. "Now you'll learn exercises you can do later but for now we should focus on what your routine should consist of..."

~~~

"Well the second worst thing you can do at any time is to treat your partner like she's made of glass, that's just going to tick them off," Loyal Heart said to his special health class, with all the guys in it.

"But what if they are being ridiculous? I mean am I wrong and thinking there are some things they really shouldn't be doing?" Grumpy asked, looking to his fellow classmates for conformation.

"Yes that's true." Loyal Heart nodded, "anything strenuous or requiring a sense of balance is a bad idea. But in general if they want to do something on their own then you should let them, unless it's dangerous. What has Swift Heart been ridiculous about?" Loyal Heart asked.

"She wants to run, and I won't let her because I'm afraid something will happen to her. And then she was trying to clean and I told her to leave it till later, I'd get to it when I got back from Bright Heart's," Grumpy explained.

"Well while I don't think she should be running at her usual pace you should compromise, let her go jogging at least or even offer to go with her," Loyal Heart suggested.

"What about cooking?" Birthday asked.

"That's fine. In your case I don't know why you'd stop Treat Heart." Loyal Heart smiled, "I remember when it was Proud Heart and me, I wouldn't let her do anything and I exhausted myself several times before she finally forced me to relax one day while she did the laundry."

"So what's the worst thing you can do?" Champ asked.

"Stop her from getting food," Loyal Heart said, his hand going to the left side of his face.

"I would never dream o' denying ma belle food. It been mon pleasure cookin fo' her," Illusion shared.

"Roit mate. But OI thougt you were gonna boit moi head off when Cozy an' OI came roun' yesterday," Jolly said.

Illusion looked embarrassed, "My instincts been going askew over dis homme, desole. Mah kind get weird when hatchlings about."

"I'm not surprised. The first time is a shock for everyone, of course when it happens for real the realization that it _is_ real will probably cause this to happen all over again," Loyal Heart said.

"Well it's probably not going to happen for a long time, especially after this," Anger Heart said, his arms folded.

"Agreed." Grumpy said.

Brave Heart fiddled with his pencil, "Maybe not that long for some of us."

Valiant nodded, "Maybe not."

"Well that depends on you, I would suggest that you wait until our schooling is finished. It's difficult enough for Proud Heart and me to look after Trust Heart at the moment, especially since I'm studying hard so I can pass the graduation tests this year." Loyal Heart sat back in his chair, "Now are there any other questions before we move on?"

Tenderheart raised his hand, "Are there any exercises we can suggest to the girls? Calm Heart wants to do some but she gets tired so easily."

"There are but there is going to be a special gym class for the girls later today so they'll learn what they can there," Loyal Heart said.

"Will we be part of it too?" Champ asked.

"Nope, the guys have their normal gym class for the next two weeks," Brave Heart spoke up, "We'll mostly be doing whatever sport you all want to do to help you burn off any frustrations."

"That's good, Brave Heart, but you can save your discussion for when it's your turn to teach," Loyal Heart said. "Now let's move on to your journals, if anyone has anything noteworthy to discuss now would be the time."

Over in Pegasus Falls, Nova and Renegade had been given the day off from magic lessons. White Fang was needed for something involving Blue and the council and Aurora told them they had earned a day to themselves.

The two were on the janberry patch collecting berries to take to Grams Bear. Renegade had told Nova how good her pies were and she voiced the idea of asking if she could make them a janberry one. Renegade didn't see a problem with it so they had run off to the berry patch.

"So what's Grams Bear like?" Nova asked.

"She's great! She's the kindest and sweetest woman you'll probably meet," Renegade smiled. "She's really powerful too."

"Powerful?" Nova asked.

"Yeah, she's the one who defeated No-Heart. Really came out of nowhere," Renegade said. "She's a great baker too so I know that she can make a janberry pie out of these."

"Or more. I'm hoping this 'pie' stuff tastes as good as you and Fauna keep telling me," Nova voiced as she finished filling a bucket she had conjured with janberries

"Speaking of my sister, we should see if she wants to come with us," Renegade mentioned as he topped off his bucket.

"Well let's go find her then, is this enough for pies?" Nova asked.

"Looks right," Renegade picked up his bucket in his mouth.

"Good, let's find her," Nova picked up her own bucket with her mouth and they trotted off to find Fauna.

Fauna was sleeping in her nest. She'd been out late with the guys and was in desperate need of some R&R. She didn't even twitch as her brother and Nova arrived.

Renegade set his bucket down and nudged her carefully, "Hey Fauna."

Groaning she barely opened an eye "Whaaaaaaaaaat?"

"Want to come see Grams Bear with us?" Nova asked, "Renegade thinks she can make a pie out of these janberries."

Her ears perked at that. Pie was very tempting. And then she could sleep in a nice soft bed! "Sure." getting to her feet she yawned and stretched. "Janberries Huh?"

"Yep, I love the things," Nova replied.

"And I thought it would be tasty if Grams could make a pie out of them," Renegade said.

"Grams can make a *******yawn******* pie out of everything." Fauna shook her head to wake up some more.

"Want to come along then?" Nova asked.

"Pretty sure I already said I was." Fauna grumbled. "She's crabby when she wakes up." Renegade told Nova.

"Well then let's get going," Nova said.

"How did you get up here anyways," Fauna asked, noting that Nova was still in her natural unicorn form.

"Levitation magic," Nova replied, stepping over the edge of the nest and floating down to the ground.

Snorting, Fauna led the way to the portal. "I hope Grams has coffee." The walk to the portal was uneventful, even the guards just let them by with no arguments.

The forest of Feelings was quiet when they entered. "Guess everyone still in school today," Renegade said, looking around.

Fauna shrugged slowly changing to her human form. "Probably, considering the time of day it is." She continued walking to the rainbow bridge that led to Grams house. Renegade and Nova also assumed their human forms and followed after Fauna.

By the time they had reached Care-a-lot the bell had rung releasing everyone from their current classes. Fauna looked at Tenderheart's and a few of the other houses where classes were held, seeing who would emerge.

One of the first was Share, sporting a large tummy.

Fauna stopped short and just stared. Behind her was Gloria, Gentle Heart, Treat Heart, and secret, all of them equally pregnant looking.

"What the hell!" Fauna yelled, getting the groups attention and surprising her companions.

"Fauna what's goin-whoa!" Renegade started.

"What, was it mating season here?" Nova asked, more confused than surprised.

"I was just here last week! This was not a thing!" She pointed wildly at the girls. "I repeat, what the hell!"

Share spoke up, approaching Fauna "It's not real. It's more of a crash course in parenting. "

Fauna backed quickly away from her, "Not real? No offense Share but it looks pretty dang real! You are large enough to have your own zipcode!"

Swift Heart had left her class with Cheer and Wish in time to hear Fauna's zipcode comment. Her eyes widened as well, "Ah shit!"

"Swift Heart, language!" Wish scolded. Her statement, profane as it was, was right on the money. Fauna took one look at Swift Heart and the last of her control vanished. Making a choking noise somewhere between a gasp and a scream Fauna shifted into a cat, flattened her body, puffed up her tail, and slunk away most likely to find a pregnancy free zone to hide in.

"Dammit, I forgot to warn her to stay away." Swift Heart groaned.

"That would have been wise," Renegade said.

"Well let's keep going to see Grams. I don't really think I need to know what exactly is going on here," Nova said. "Umm, which way is it again."

"That way," Cheer pointed in the direction of Grams' house.

"Right, let's go. I'm not as freaked out as my sister but I'll be happy in a more comfortable place," Renegade took off, leaving Nova to try to catch up with him.

"Should we try to find Fauna?"

Swift Heart shook her head at Treat Heart, "No way. That will make it worse. I'll send Grumpy after her later. Let's get to this new special gym class." She sounded less then enthused.

"You don't sound too enthusiastic," Share observed. "Is something wrong, Swift Heart?"

"Yeah! It's called being nine months pregnant with twins, forced to go to school and sit in uncomfortable desks and then having to think about how to talk Fauna off her freaked off ledge," she retorted.

"Gee sorry!" Share turned her head away indignantly.

~~~

Renegade and Nova arrived at Grams' house and Renegade knocked on the door. "I wonder if Fauna's here already," Renegade wondered aloud.

Grams answered the door smiling as always, and looking like she was trying to contain a laugh. "Hello dears! What can I do for you?"

"We came to see if you can make pies out of these janberries," Nova held up her bucket of the berries.

"What's so funny, Grams?" Renegade asked.

She motioned to the stairs with her head, "Your sister just came streaking through my window and is now hiding under my bed. When I went to check on her she said it was her worst nightmare coming true, among other dramatic things."

"Probably something to do with this 'fake pregnancy' business," Renegade said. "Want me to try and talk her out from under the bed?"

Grams shook her head, taking the pail from Nova, "Let her be for a bit. She'll come out. Probably around the time the pies are done cooking." Inspecting the berries and tasting one Grams looked pleased, "I can indeed make these into a pie."

"Great! So how do we do that?" Nova asked, scratching her head.

Grams looked surprised, "Oh so you want to help too? I thought you were just dropping these off and I was doing all the work."

"Why would I do that?" Nova sounded even more confused.

"Usually I cook alone," Grams told her. "Not that I mind, it's how I relax, but if you want to learn dear I am more than happy to teach you."

"Great, thanks Grams!" Nova smiled and gave the elderly bear a hug.

"So what can I do?" Renegade asked.

"You can keep an eye on the cubs. I just put them down for their nap but I'd love it if you could watch them while we're busy," Grams said.

Renegade nodded, "OK, I can do that."

"They are in the other room in their cribs." She pointed to her family room. "You missy, follow me." She led the way into the kitchen.

"Missy?" Nova raised an eyebrow but followed Grams as Renegade headed for the family room.

"So what should I do first?" Nova asked.

"Wash your hands," Grams said, she was already doing much the same, "First step when doing cooking of any kind: you need to make sure you're hands are clean."

"Alright," Nova waited for Grams to finish before she took her place at the sink and washed her hands.

"Next we need our ingredients. We need flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, and eggs. Look in the fridge and pantry," Grams pointed the two structures out to Nova while she got her bowls out.

"OK," Nova opened up the fridge and spotted a bottle with the word 'Milk' printed on part of its label. It took her a few minutes to actually find everything, checking each package in the fridge and pantry for the words Grams had told her to look for.

"Excellent job dear. Now I will measure it all out and then you can mix it using this." She held up the hand held beater. Placing it in front of Nova she then began to pour out her recipe from memory. "So is this your first time cooking dear?"

"Yeah... we don't cook anything back home. Usually we just eat things off the plants," Nova said as she picked up the hand beater.

Grams nodded knowingly, "I am familiar with that. The first time I sent Fauna to the Falls with cookies, her friends ate them so fast I had to make more the next day." She chuckled at the memory. "They weren't used to such things and I can assume the same is to be said for you. Enjoyed those cookies at Christmas didn't you?"

"I loved them, but Ren dragged me away before I could eat too many," Nova said. "Everyone said it was to keep me off a 'sugar-high' whatever that is."

"Have you ever gotten so excited about something that you felt like you were going to jump right out of your skin?" Grams asked.

"Sort of, when I used to think about coming to the human world," Nova said.

"Well it's sort of like that, except you can't stop feeling like that for a while," Grams said.

"Oh, I guess I get it." Nova nodded.

"I remember when the kids were younger. They had a campout in the Forest of Feelings and ate so many s'mores that they were running around the place, howling and with paint smeared on their faces." Putting in the last ingredient she told Nova, "That'll do it. Go ahead and beat it around until the dough starts to get sticky."

Nova pushed the switch on the beater, causing it to spin, startling her. Nova regained her composure and carefully put the electric beater into the bowl and held it there, watching in fascination as the ingredients began to blend together.

Renegade was sitting on a chair, watching Hugs, Tugs and Trust Heart snoozing away. "Didn't think they were such heavy sleepers," he commented.

"They aren't always. I've seen them wake up shrieking when someone talks too loud." Renegade jumped, not having heard his sister come down the stairs. Still in her cat form she sat in the doorway, tail twitching.

"Hey Fauna, feeling any better?" Renegade asked.

"I'm not sure. I keep thinking about it and getting weirder out all over again. I just can't believe they are all pregnant at the same time...ugh" She shuddered.

"And that still disturbs you, even if it's supposed to be fake," Renegade said.

She nodded, "It still seems like there is something in there. That's freaky! If I ever felt something wiggling around inside me I would lose my mind." Making a face she moved to the chair Renegade was in, jumping up on the arm. Looking down at Hugs she said, "I don't mind them like this though. They're super cute."

"Yeah, they are." Renegade nodded. "So what are you going to do about this situation out there? Are you gonna just bolt for the portal when we're done here?"

"I haven't decided yet. Maybe I'll try to stick around. I mean I did get used to True Heart and Proud Heart when they were pregnant. But this is different, it's everywhere now!" Fauna shuddered.

"Yeah, it is." Renegade nodded, "Maybe when school lets out you can talk to just one of them at a time to try and not be overwhelmed."

She nodded. "I realize how irrational I sound, but everyone has their things that freak them out. And this is just mine."

~~~

"No way am I getting in that water!" Swift Heart stood indignantly at the edge of the indoor pool where the girl's special gym class was.

"Why not, you're already in your swim suit," Cheer Bear pointed out.

"I was going to lay out and get some sun. But no force on earth or cloud is going to get even one of my toes in that water." To reinforce her point Swift Heart took a large step away from the edge.

"Why do we have to do this in the water anyway?" Funshine asked.

"The buoyancy will help you to exercise better, we even lowered the water level so it'll only come up to the top of your tummy's or your chest, depending on your height," Confidence said.

"And why's your boyfriend here?" Love-a-Lot pointed accusingly at Love Heart, who was standing by in his swim trunks, "Aren't you mad that he's just here to oggle?"

"I'm here as the lifeguard," Love Heart said. "If anyone falls over or has problems then I can receded the water to keep you safe."

"I don't care if the coast guard and navy were here. It's not happening." Swift Heart crossed her arms.

Love-a-Lot rolled her eyes, "Swift Heart aren't you being slightly ridiculous?"

Her eyes narrowed at the pink bear. "Have you ever been almost drowned because someone was holding you down? Do you know what that feels like to be helpless? I don't like swimming when I'm not like this." She motioned at her body. "Heavy objects sink. So don't you dare say I'm being over dramatic!"

"And how are you supposed to 'recede the water'? Whatever that means," Harmony pointed out.

"Been working on water elementalism," Love Heart stood at the water's edge and put his hand together then swung them out, his power forcing the water in the pool to the sides and leaving most of the pool empty for a moment before he let it fall back into place.

Funshine couldn't resist making a crack, "Look, the Kingdom of Caring has its very own Moses!" before she burst out laughing.

The others laughed as well, except for Swift Heart. She was looking paler rather than amused. Swimming to the edge, Cozy climbed out and put her flippers on Swifty's shoulders. Looking to Confidence she said, "Give usss a few minutesss?"

"No problem," Confidence nodded, "Alright girls, feel free to wade and if you have any problems then let me or Love Heart know but don't overexert yourselves before the class starts!"

"This is great! Already my back has stopped hurting," Friend said, smiling and moving her arms slowly through the water.

"For real girl, I could dig this," Harmony agreed.

"That's good, that's exactly the point of this," Confidence called.

A few minutes passed and Cozy and Swift Heart returned, Cozy smiling Swift Heart looking a little calmer. "Ssswifty hasss agreed to sssit on the sssstairsss that lead into the pool for now. Ssshe wants to be comfortable there before going any farther."

"That's alright," Confidence said. "You trust us right, Swift Heart?" she asked, walking with her to the stairs into the pool.

"You all, yes. That slippery combination of oxygen and hydrogen molecules, not as far as Playful can throw a water balloon." Hesitating on the top she gripped the railing tightly and very slowly lowered one foot into the water.

"Take it at your own pace," Confidence said as she and Cozy Heart waded into the pool.

Confidence moved one end of the pool and clapped her hands to get everyone else's attention, "Alright, time to start our lessons. Just so you all know I volunteered to teach this class in Proud Heart's place while the guys have normal gym classes for the next two weeks. Now I'm sure you've all noticed but the reason we're doing this exercise in water in that the buoyancy of the water makes you feel lighter and takes a lot of pressure off your legs and back when you do this, of course we lowered the water level so you could easily stand on the bottom of the pool."

"So what kind of exercise are we doing?" Gentle Heart.

"Tai'chi, it's slow and relaxing but still good exercise," Confidence replied.

"Oh you mean the same stuff you're teaching Birthday?" Treat Heart asked.

"Yes, exactly." Confidence nodded.

"So how do we start?" Wish Bear asked.

"Just follow me. The first Tai'chi move is simple," Confidence put her arms out in front of her and slowly raised them upwards. "We'll get more complicated as we go on but just follow me and let me know if you start to feel strained or overexerted."

Cheer laughed, "This is cake. I could do this all day."

"Well then try to keep up." Confidence smirked.

"Will we have time to ssswim around after? Jussst on our own?" Cozy was itching to go for a good long swim.

"Of course," Confidence assured the penguin.

Cozy put a flipper on her belly and gave it a little rub "Hehe, it agreesss."

"Feeling better?" Love Heart asked Swift Heart, having moved closer to her to see how she was doing.

Swift Heart had her hands on either side of her, gripping the step under water. "Not really. I still get nightmares about what happened." Realizing Love Heart had no idea what she was talking about she quickly explained, "During our whole opposite incident, mine held me under water and tried to drown me. He knew I hated the water, and that I had never learned how to swim. I blacked out and almost died but Loyal Heart saved me."

"Ah," Love Heart nodded understandingly. "You're doing alright, all things considered."

She smiled at him, "No I'm not. I'm being a total pansy. But it's sweet of you to say."

"Well you came to this class today, and you're still sitting in the water," Love Heart pointed out.

"Yeah I am. But I think that is all I can do today. I know you and Confidence are trying and all but I just can't." Tears of frustration brought on by hormones began to cloud her eyes and she fanned her face trying to get rid of them. "Ughhh this is stupid."

"What's stupid?" Love Heart said, moving to sit next to her on the steps.

"I don't cry over stuff like this usually." She told him, getting herself under control. "It's just the situation, and hormones, and the babies started moving more when I freaked out and that freaked me out even more."

"Want me to help you ease into the water?" Love Heart offered. "I can lower the water level around you for a bit to help you ease in."

She shook her head, "I wasn't kidding before. This is literally as far as I can go today. Maybe tomorrow I can do more."

"Alright," Love Heart said. "I'd better get back to my post. Just let me know if I can ever help." He stood up and went back to watching out over the session.

In the boys class they were about to play a good old fashioned game of tackle football. Brave Heart figured it would help ease their frustration. Champ was one quarterback and he was calling out his play to his team. "Hike!" As the line broke, he looked for someone to throw it to. Seeing Indy he called, "Indy go long!"

Indy didn't respond but began running, looking over his shoulder to see when Champ would throw. Hurling his arm back Champ let it fly, just before Birthday tackled him. He fell with a grunt, unable to see if Indy got the ball. Indy managed to catch the ball, but turned in time only to be tackled from the front by Illusion.

"Nice bro!" Brave Heart ran up to him as he got to his feet.

"Merci homme." He held a hand down to Indy to help him up. "Good try frer."

"No problem, I'm used to being banged around," Indy said. "So where do we go from here in this game?"

"We huddle up again and run a new play. If we get you again then it's your teams turn on offense," Brave Heart responded.

"OK I got it," Indy said as he and his team got into a huddle.

Champ looked at them all as he spoke, "Alright guys, you've got to get clear fast. Otherwise we won't be able to run any plays and they will obliterate us! So once we break, I need Playful and Loyal to get clear. I will get the ball to one of you and then you run it. Halfway down switch the ball to someone else. They will then try to get it to the in end zone. Got it?"

They all nodded, "Got it," before they broke the huddle.

Lining his team up Champ took a moment to correct some of their positioning. Satisfied he moved to his position. "Ready, set Hike!" As the ball was snapped into his hands he looked for his two key players.

Champ let the ball fly just before he got sacked by Grumpy. Loyal Heart managed to catch it and sprinted down the field. Playful was keeping pace with him down the other side. "Someone cover Playful!" Brave Heart called.

"On it!" Illusion moved to intercept the monkey.

"Let's see what you got!" Playful taunted Illusion and began dodging from side to side. The gator was not quick enough to follow and could do little more than tail him. Loyal took a chance and threw the ball to Playful and he stopped and looked at the ball long enough for Illusion to get close enough. He then leapt on the gator's head, knocking him down, and snatched the ball. Landing he went sprinting towards the end zone.

"Go Playful!" Indy called. Illusion scowled and tried to chase Playful Heart down.

Looking over his shoulder Playful said, "Ha! Give up Illusion, you'll never catch me!"

"Maybe not homme, but dat de purpose of a team, oui?" Turning around Playful saw Birthday coming at him.

"Get rid of it! Indy's open!" Champ bellowed at him.

Playful took a chance and hurled the ball at Independent Bear. Indy saw the ball coming almost too late but managed to catch it and charged down towards the end zone.

"Go Indy Go!" Champ was hopping in excitement as Indy crossed the line, scoring points for his team. His team cheered and went to congratulate him.

"Thanks everyone," Indy said. "So what's the score?"

"They are still beating us by 6 points. But we get to take a field goal. Who's our best kicker?" Champ asked looking the team over.

"Oooh me!" Playful's hand shot up.

"Alright, I'll hold it and you just make it through the middle of those." Champ pointed to the goal posts.

"Gotcha!" Playful nodded and waited for Champ to get into position.

"Careful not to choke." Grumpy muttered as Playful passed him. He ignored Grumpy and continued to strut to where the ball was being held. His tail twitched and he ran at the ball, kicked it, and sent it sailing through the posts.

"Nice one!" Champ and Playful High fived and the game moved on to the next play.

~~~

"How am I doing so far?" Nova asked as she carefully pressed a shell into the pie plate.

"Good. Just be a little gentler on the crust." Grams teased. Nova was pressing down forcibly onto it and leaving behind her finger prints.

"Oh right!" Nova eased off a bit as she continued.

Fauna came wandering into the kitchen in her human form and walked right past them, helping herself to a glass of milk.

"Nice of you to emerge dear. Feeling better?" Grams asked. Fauna shot Grams Bear a look that made her laugh.

"Well at least the kids are still asleep," Nova said as she finished with one pie shell. "So now what? I just put the janberries in here?"

Grams nodded and handed her the bowl and a wooden spoon. Fauna attempted to sneak a finger full of the filling but had her hand smacked by Grams spoon, "Ow! I just wanted a taste."

"You know the rules, grab a spoon." She pointed Fauna in the direction of the silverware drawer.

"Forget it, I'll wait. So Nova, you learning anything?"

"A lot." Nova began spooning the stuff into her pie shell, "I've never tried this whole 'cooking' thing before. It's fun."

"That's what I hear." Fauna sat down at the table and drank her milk.

Nova looked up from her work, checking the kitchen for a moment before asking. "Hey, can either of you offer any advice about Renegade?"

"I knew I felt a spark between you two." Grams stated with a smile, "What kind of advice dear?"

"Well with Pegasus apparently the stallions are supposed to start things, I know White Fang's a stickler about that, but I think Ren's nervous that I'll reject him. Is there any way I can get him not to think that so he'll just ask me?" Nova asked. She finished filling the pie crust amnd looked for the top they had made earlier.

Grams was about to say something but Fauna cut her off, "Just kiss him or something. Make it crystal clear you like him. No offense Nova but most of the vibes you've been sending him are friend vibes. Boys are slow."

"He's not that slow!" Nova defended Renegade.

"Well then clearly it's you doing something wrong. So make it obvious you wouldn't reject him." Fauna told Nova matter-of-factly.

Nova sighed as she finally sealed her pie, "So I put this in the oven, for how long?" She asked Grams.

"45 minutes. And I agree with Fauna. If you think he is too nervous, you need to make him feel more confident." She put a supportive hand on Nova's shoulder. "Don't listen to everything she says. She hasn't had the same relationship as most people."

Fauna rolled her eyes, "I can hear you ya know."

"So should I just kiss him or... I'd appreciate some specific suggestions." Nova put her pie int he oven then sat down. "Ren's really nice, he's supportive and he spends a lot of time with; he's been making a lot of effort with me lately, like this trip today, it was his idea since he knows I like these janberries so much."

"Have you told him that you appreciate him?" Grams asked her.

"Well... no," Nova admitted.

"Start with that. Boys love to hear they are appreciated. And yes Grams, even Blue does too." She told the older bear snarkily.

"Well I've got some time now, I could go talk to him," Nova said.

"Hop to it. I'll watch your pies," Grams said while shooing her out of the kitchen.

"All right all right!" Nova said as she was pushed out.

The cubs were still asleep and Renegade was still just sitting and watching them when Nova entered the room.

"Hey Ren," Nova said, causing the pegasus to turn to face her. "Kids still sleeping?" she asked.

"Yeah." Renegade nodded, "How's the pie coming?"

"Just cooking now," Nova replied, taking a seat on the arm of Renegade's chair.

"That's good." Renegade smiled and put an arm up around Nova.

Nova smiled back and said, "Thanks Ren."

"For what?" Renegade asked.

"Everything: the irises, helping me with my magic, and bringing me here to make the pies. I really appreciate all you're doing for me lately," Nova said.

"Oh, well you're welcome," Renegade blushed a bit. Maybe this wouldn't be such a risk after all. He took a deep breath and asked, "Nova, would you like to start courting?" He asked.

"Start courting?" Nova laughed, "I've never heard someone ask that way before." She saw Renegade's face fall so she moved quickly to rectify the situation, bending down and giving him a kiss. "Of course we can," She said once she broke the kiss. Renegade just smiled, his response seemingly frozen in his throat.

Fauna had watched the whole thing from the doorway and snickered at her brother, "Awww poor Ren."

"Fauna!" Nova glared at her, Renegade just sunk back into the chair, trying to recall if he could somehow go invisible for a minute.

"Oh come off it! Like I wouldn't have heard you guys anyway. Grams house isn't that big," she told them. "Besides, I think it's sweet."

"Yeah, thanks," Nova said, rolling her eyes.

"Sis, can you watch the kids for a bit?" Renegade asked.

Nodding she came into the room, "Yeah I got them."

"Thanks sis," Renegade managed to get out of the chair. Nova smiled and gave him another kiss before they left the room.

Back at the pool, the girls were beginning to feel the exercises. Some were getting tired while others, mainly Cozy, were still going strong. Swift Heart still sat on the stairs, watching the others follow Confidence's lead.

Confidence stopped at the end of her current move, "Alright, how's everyone feeling?" she asked.

"I could use a break," Wish Bear admitted, panting slightly.

Friend raised her hand, resting her other one on her side, "Me too. I think I'm getting a cramp."

"Yeah, a break sounds nice," Funshine added.

"Could it be a snack break too? I'm hungry." Treat Heart voiced from her spot in the back.

"Alright everyone, we can stop now," Confidence said. "Just wade to the side and walk out. Don't try to lift up over the edge."

"If you need any help don't be afraid to ask," Love Heart added, standing up and helping Swift Heart off the stairs.

With one hand on her belly to keep it steady she took Love Heart's and let him pull her up. "You don't have to keep me company Love Heart. I know you are supposed to be life guarding."

"I was, I could have helped anyone if they were in trouble," Love Heart replied as they stepped out. "If you want I can help you with this aqua phobia of yours some time," he offered.

Swift Heart laughed, "You aren't the first to offer. And none of the others have had any success, but you're welcome to try. Maybe After this whole baby thing is over?"

"If that's the case, you should try those moves on your own time," Love Heart said. He left Swift Heart's side as the rest of the class exited the pool save for Grateful Heart and Cozy Heart.

"You know I'm done for the day, right?" Confidence said as she headed for the side.

"I know, but unlike everyone else we love the water," Grateful said.

"Much more than the land." Cozy affirmed before diving beneath the surface, twirling as if she had no extra weight at all.

Grateful followed suit, she stroked her tummy as she came up for air, "We were told to avoid swimming un the river because of the current so we're going to be spending a lot of time in here."

"But you guys will get all like, pruny." Love-a-Lot told them.

Cozy had broken the surface and shared a look with Gloria before the two began to laugh, "We never get pruny." The penguin told her.

"Probably something to do with their species," Guidance guessed.

"Yeah well, I guess I'll stick around just in case," Love Heart said.

"Well I'll hang around here too then. It's the last class of the day," Confidence said. "The guys are probably still playing their game."

"I think I'll go see how that's going."

"I'll come with you Swifty," Cheer called as she went after the rabbit.

"Me too," Love-a-Lot joined them.

"Are they gonna change?" Love Heart asked, looking at the three exiting the room.

"They're probably going to sunbathe, or they want their partners to see them like that," Confidence said.

"So are you gonna send Grumpy to talk to Fauna?" Love-a-Lot asked as they exited the pool building.

Swift Heart nodded, "Yup. I'm pretty sure he or one of the other guys are about the only people she will talk to." Looking to her stomach she gave it a pat, "You are much more trouble then you're worth."

"Only because it's not real," Love-a-lot said, smiling.

"Hey wait up!" Funshine called as she waddled to catch up.

They stopped and waited for her. "Well she needs to start getting over this silly aversion now." Cheer said and then instantly thought of something "Hey, maybe we should get Guidance to do the spell to Fauna."

"Oh yeah Cheer, brilliant idea! Tell me, would you prefer Fauna tear you into teeny tiny pieces or just dismember you? Honestly I don't think I've ever heard you say anything dumber!" Swift Heart snapped at her.

"She's got a point Cheer," Funshine said, slowing down.

"Well how else could she get over it?" Love-a-Lot asked, "At this rate when the real thing hits she'll _completely_ lose it."

"It won't. She doesn't want kids. Ever," Swift Heart told them. "It's a total non-issue for her."

"Well it'll probably be an issue for Blue," Love-a-Lot said as they came to the field, where the boys' football game was still going strong.

Again Swift Heart shook her head, "He knows what he's getting into. Fauna made it perfectly clear." Looking at the scoreboard she saw only a touchdown separated the teams. "I wonder who's winning," Cheer asked as she looked to see who was on each team.

"Well, the way Champ's team is trying to get to the end zone, I'd say they're losing," Funshine guessed, moving to the bleachers to sit down.

Cheer gasped, "What! Champ doesn't lose!" Looking out to the field Cheer hollered, "You slackers better get it together! You will not ruin my Champ's perfect record!"

Champ looked to the sidelines in confusion, "Cheer? What are you doing?"

"Shut up and focus on the game Champ!" he winced at the mood swing.

"Well you heard her, what's the next move, Champ?" Indy asked.

"We are only down by six points. If we score and get our field goal, we win. Do whatever it takes to get our ball over the line. I am not going home to an angry Cheer!" Champ declared his resolve greater than before.

"Alright then, let's do this," Playful said, waving to Funshine before going back to their huddle.

"Wooo! Go Playful!" She called back.

Swift Heart merely smirked at Grumpy, "Awww look at him playing team sports." she pretended to wipe a fake tear. "I'm so proud."

"Aww," Love-a-Lot cooed. The huddle broke and Champ got into the ready position for what was hopefully the last play.

"Do it for my sanity BOYS! Hike!" As he got the ball he saw an opening and sprinted for his goal line. Illusion and Brave Heart came at him and Champ leapt over them. Seeing Loyal out of the corner of his eye he threw him the ball. Catching it in his teeth he took it the rest of the way.

"See that wasn't so hard!" Cheer called.

Champ smirked at her, "All I needed was my lucky cheerleader." She giggled and watched as Playful took the field goal kick. As it went through the post's Brave Hearts team groaned.

"Good kick Playful! Ooof!" Funshine held her tummy, "I didn't mean you two."

Playful grinned as he bounded away from the back clapping to the bleachers, "Miss me Sunshine?" he asked.

"Not even a little," she teased.

The other guys were coming over by now too. "Why are you all in bathing suits?" Champ asked, looking the four of them over.

"It's our new exercise class, water tai'chi," Cheer informed him.

Jolly nudged Etienne's arm, "Bet our Sheilas er still there."

"Agreed homme. An since dis game over, I tink we be moseying over dat way." The two headed for the pool.

"Oh they are!" Love-a-Lot called after them before turning back to the boys.

"Hey Grumpy can you do me a really big favor?" Swift Heart asked.

"Of course Swifty, what did you need?" Grumpy asked.

"Fauna showed up with Renegade and Nova and saw all of us. She freaked, naturally and went running off to Grams I think. Could you talk her down for me?" she asked.

Grumpy sighed, "Well I guess she's gonna be holed up there until someone talks to her about this. I'll go talk to her, do you need me to help you get home?" he offered.

Standing on tip toe she kissed him, "I'd like that. I could use some time with you after that work out session." She gave a little shudder.

"I know you're scared of water." Grumpy helped her to steady on her feet, "Let's get you home."

~~~

Grateful Heart and Cozy Heart were still swimming when Jolly and Illusion arrived at the pool. The boys silently slipped into the water and swam for their respective girlfriends.

Gloria was swimming on her back. Coming up under her Etienne scooped her up in his arms and kissed her. "Bonjour chere."

"Eek!" Gloria was taken by surprise. "Illy!" She tried to glare but smiled and kissed him back. "Come to join us for a swim?" she asked.

"Look dat way ma belle. Best way to cool off after a good ol' game o football." Carefully he lowered her back down into the water. Jolly and Cozy were for the moment twirling around each other in the deep end.

"I hope you had fun. The water _really_ helps take the edge off this extra weight," Gloria commented.

Gently he rested a hand on her belly, "Bet it does. It was fun till de otha team beat us. Den not so much."

"Aww, well that's fine. You're still a winner for me." She gave Illusion another kiss.

"OI'm jealous of you sheila. OI wish OI coulda spent tha aftanoon in here. OI hate those contact sports."

"Jolly honey, you hate running in general. Even if itssss not in a sssport."

Jolly stuck his foot up in Cozy's faze, "Oy! You troi runnin in these feet."

Giggling she tickled it with her flipper, "I like your little webbed feet." Laughing he hugged her close.

"You know there's something I've been wondering since this little project started," Grateful Heart said.

"Oh, what dat?" Illusion asked.

"Well, why do I have breasts?" Grateful brought her hands up to her chest, feeling the aforementioned organs, "I found out that real platypus females just sweat milk."

Moving his snout to the crook where her shoulder met her neck, Etienne growled, "I know why you have dem chere."

"Croikey bloke that's moi sistah!" Jolly scolded the alligator.

Cozy answered Gloria, "I have them too and penguinsss don't even nurssse. I think it'sss becaussse we all have sssome human characterisssticsss along with our animal onesss. I mean face it, you don't sssee pink elephantsss or purple bearsss in nature either do you?"

"Not unless you drink too much," Gloria giggled.

Cozy and Jolly giggled at her comment. "So how does tha lil nippah loike tha water?"

Jolly asked while patting Cozy's tummy, "It'sss a natural." she assured him.

"Yep, same here," Grateful replied. "And I guess it's for the best, I don't want to be sweating milk before this is over." She carefully swam away from Illusion and dove underwater enjoying the buoyancy while she swam into the deeper end of the now filled pool.

"Must say dat I appreciate dat as well." He muttered to Jolly before following after Gloria.

"Is it almost done?" Nova asked. She had returned to the kitchen and was staring at the oven.

"Done making out with my brother already?" Fauna asked. Tugs had woken up and was currently in her lap, slapping his hands on a book.

"It was just a little for this first time, it's not like you and Blue don't do that too," Nova replied.

"Oh we totally do, I never denied that." She smiled at Nova, "And like champions I may add." Grams tried to look shocked by Fauna's openness but it was a lost cause, nothing the young pegasus did surprised her anymore.

"Just a few more minutes Nova dear."

"Sweet, can't wait," Nova licked her lips. "Is there anything I should eat with it?" she asked.

"Vanilla Ice cream. It tastes good with almost every kind of pie. I just so happen to have a gallon in my freezer." Grams moved to get it.

Fauna transferred Tugs to her hip, still keeping a secure hold on him. "Let's see if we can find some of your teething cookies."

"Their parents should be stopping by soon to pick them up," Grams added as she fished the tub out of her freezer.

"Are they... like the others too?" Fauna asked, looking down at Tugs as she searched for his teething cookies.

"No. True Heart's not but Proud Heart's pregnant for real, just a month or so along last I heard," Grams said.

Fauna's eyes rolled, "Of course she is. Who was responsible for the pseudo preggo's again?"

"Guidance Heart."

Fauna nodded, "Remind me to stay away from her. I don't need to be sharing in this experience."

"How did she do that anyway?" Nova asked.

"It's has to do with her light elementalism, even I'm not quite sure how that works," Grams admitted.

The doorbell sounded through the house then. "It's open!" Grams called. A second later Grumpy came into the kitchen.

"I was wondering when you'd be showing up." Fauna told him.

"Yeah well Swift Heart wanted to be sure you weren't losing your mind. Do I smell pie?" He moved past her and towards the oven.

"That's the janberry pie that Grams showed me how to make," Nova said. "And I don't want word getting out to the ravenous horde out there."

"Ha! With Grumpy here, it won't make it out of the house." Fauna told her. Tugs made a happy chortling noise. "Report back to Swifty I am fine, I just will be gone for the next two weeks."

"And the four of us plan to share this so shoo!" Nova added.

He scowled, "Alright, alright. I get it. Yeesh." Turning to Fauna he said, "Maybe at least call her or something. It would make her relax which would make my life much better."

Fauna groaned, "Alright. I will try to come and visit once at least, fair enough?"

He nodded. Grams came over with a slice of pie on a plate, "Here Grumpy. Take some Happy Apple for the road." His eyes lit up as he took the plate and headed back outside.

"Do you just keep those around for occasions like this?" Nova asked. She shook her head then thought of something, "I should give this elementalism stuff a try."

"Another thing to learn? Aren't you taking on too much here, Nova?" Renegade asked, emerging with Trust Heart and Hugs, who had woken up while Grumpy was there.

"So? What's wrong with trying to learn as many things as possible?" Nova asked.

"I hear sleep is a popular thing. And, you know, fun." Fauna told her while moving to say hi to the other babies.

Nova rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Yeah… no thanks. I'm not going to be one of those dozy unicorns back home."

Further knocks at the door announced the arrival of Loyal Heart, Proud Heart, True Heart and Noble Heart, who entered once Grams called to them.

At the same moment the timer went off for the pie. "I'll get it!" Nova rushed to the oven.

"Use the pot holders!" Fauna and Grams yelled at the same time.

Realizing how much like a mom she soundest Fauna hurriedly handed Tugs to Grams. "Here take him." Grams just smiled and tickled the cub's feet as the other four entered the room.

"Fauna? Renegade? I didn't expect to see you here," Loyal Heart commented as he moved to take his son from Renegade.

"That one needed pie making lessons." Fauna pointed to Nova. "And I didn't expect to see everyone knocked up! Days full of surprises!"

"I guess we should have warned you about the project we're doing, sorry," Proud Heart apologized.

Fauna waved off her concern. "Whatever, I'll survive. Congratulations though. I hear you are for real."

"Yes!" Proud Heart beamed, "You can't really tell though, it's only a couple months along."

"I'm working as hard as I can to pass the exams this summer. I don't want to be in school when our second is born," Loyal Heart added.

"Sounds like a good goal." Grams acknowledged.

"I don't see why you won't Loyal. Your grades a good overall." True Heart told him.

"Thanks, True Heart," Loyal Heart replied.

"What is that smell mom?" True Heart asked while sniffing.

"Janberry Pie. Nova made it," Grams replied.

"Janberry?" Noble Heart raised an eyebrow.

"They're from Pegasus Falls, Nova's favorite," Renegade said.

"How much did you make?" Proud Heart asked.

"Just one so far, but Renegade and Nova brought enough berries for at least two more," Grams said.

"And you couldn't share one slice with poor Grumpus?" Fauna asked her with a small smile.

"Are you sure he'd just have taken one?" Nova called as she set the pie on the counter.

"Yes. Followed by another and another and another."

True Heart laughed, "That's for sure. Thanks again mom for babysitting."

"I don't mind at all, they're sweet little darlings," Grams replied.

"How'd your pie turn out?" Fauna asked Nova.

"Looks alright, not burned," Nova said.

"I'm sure it's good," Renegade reassured her, giving Nova a kiss on the cheek.

"Well let's cut it up and try some," Grams said.

Fauna picked up the knife, "Allow me. You four want any?" She asked Proud heart, Loyal Heart, Noble Heart, and True Heart.

"Sure, we'd love some," Noble Heart said as they all took a seat. True Heart managed to find Tugs' teething cookie and gave it to him, letting him chew on it.

As Fauna plated the pie, Renegade added a scoop of ice cream to each as well. Licking some goo off her fingers Fauna hummed in satisfaction "mmmmmm"

"Much better as a pie," Nova added as she took a bite before adding ice cream to her slice.

"This is very good. Well done Nova." Noble Heart complimented. Hugs tried stealing some from her dad's plate, "nuhuh sweetie. You're too young."

It took some time for them to finish the pie. Nova was the first, "Well I'm gonna go find those magi and see what I can learn about elementalism."

"Mind if I stay here?" Renegade asked, "I'd like to learn some cooking too."

"Sure, as long as Grams is OK with it," Nova said.

She nodded, "absolutely. How about you Fauna? You in?"

Fauna shook her head and hopped off her counter seat. "If I learned to cook I wouldn't need you anymore." She kissed Grams cheek. "I'll probably be heading home."

"Alright, see you in the falls," Nova said as she headed out the door.

"Don't get knocked up!" Fauna called after her.

Renegade blanched, coughing as pie shot from his mouth. "Not cool sis!"

"I'm sure Guidance won't do anything without her permission," True Heart reassured them.

"Yeah Fauna is just doing what she does best: instigating," Proud Heart said before taking a bite of Loyal Hearts pie.

Loyal Heart didn't comment on Proud Heart's actions. Noble Heart spoke up, "We'll be heading home then, let's go Hugs," he said to his daughter.

"You too little man. Say bye bye Grams bear." True Heart made her son wave. Laughing Grams waved back making the cub giggle.


	23. Family Care Arc, part 4

Chapter 23

Grumpy Bear's garage had become a chaos of animatronic parts and errant tools. He, Bright Heart, and Anger Heart had started making the babies for the next part of the assignment. It was slow going since they were trying to make kids unique to each couple. While they were doing this their girlfriends either kept them company or sat in his house. Currently Grumpy was working on the body of one, screwing an arm into the socket. "Damn it, this screw is too small." He began searching for a new one.

"What size does it have to be?" Bright Heart asked.

"I need a 4-inch instead of a 3-inch." Grumpy told him while looking up from his part of the workbench.

"Here, this should fit," Anger Heart said, passing a 4-inch screw to Grumpy. "I hope no one is creeped out by these," he added.

"I think most of them will just see it as a fancy toy," Grumpy replied.

"Well these programs I'm working on should track how the couples look after their kids." Bright Heart was working on his computer, occasionally looking up to offer advice on some of the construction.

"Maybe we can install off switches in ours, you know so we can take a break from having to parent. Since we are building these things." Grumpy suggested, only half joking.

"Not a bad idea," Anger Heart considered.

"I would but Noble Heat warned against favoring certain couples," Bright Heart said.

"That's why we don't tell him Bright Heart." He grumbled while grabbing a leg and starting to attach it. "How's it going Anger?"

"So far so good, as long as we don't have to make fake fur for these things," Anger Heart replied. "Sounds like the girls are getting along."

"Yeah I haven't heard Swift Heart threaten Guidance at all lately," Grumpy replied. "And honestly I think you'd have to try very hard not to get along with your girl Bright Heart," he added.

"Well, Gentle does try," Bright Heart said.

"I think everyone's mostly forgiven Guidance by now, or at least they're willing to let her be since she's not exempt from this," Anger Heart said as he screwed a mechanical eye into a head.

"I was referring to before too. After the whole Magi thing I thought some of the looks she and Swift exchanged would give a glacier chills." Grabbing his water bottle Grumpy took a swig. As he did, he knocked a screwdriver onto the floor, just missing his toes. Grumpy jumped to avoid it and accidentally sent water at Bright Heart.

"Ahhhh!" Bright Heart held up his hands, the water splashing over his computer. Bright Heart hurriedly grabbed some tissues from a box nearby and began soaking up the water, "Careful, I don't want to lose all my work!"

Grumpy scowled, "Sorry. I'll just let the tools hit my foot the next time." Placing the water bottle down he capped it.

"Hey boys," Swift Heart's voice called their attention to her. "We were going to make some pizza, you guys want any?"

"Sure!" Anger Heart called. "How big of a pizza are they going to make?" he asked the other two.

A few seconds passed before Swift Heart reached Anger. When she did she flicked his arm hard. "I heard that! And we are making more than one thank you very much." She told him looking indignant. "If you like, I can make sure yours drops on the floor."

"Yeesh, sorry," Anger Heart rubbed his arm.

"Not all of us have gotten the appetite of a starving army." She added. Smiling at Bright Heart and Grumpy she asked, "Any requests on toppings? Or do you trust our judgement." Before they could answer she added, "Keep in mind, the other two are having a bout of cravings right now."

"Well I can usually eat anything," Bright Heart said. "Just not fish."

"I'd prefer just meat and mushrooms. And really, I am sorry, Swift Heart," Anger Heart added.

Winking at him she patted his shoulder before heading back in.

"What? You don't care what I want?"

"I already know, and you aren't getting it Grumpy." Swift Heart called back to him.

When he heard the door close he blurted to Anger, "She gets just as hungry as the rest of them. She just doesn't like people to know."

"I can't really blame her. Let me guess, pickled beets on your pizza?" Anger Heart guessed.

He scowled, "Among other things. Normally we split it half-and-half."

"Ah well. In a week and a half that part will be over at least," Anger Heart smiled then went back to working on the animatronics.

Gentle Heart looked up from her cutting board as Swift Heart returned, "What did they say?"

"Oh the usual. Meat of some sort and veggies of some sort, and Grumpy gets no say." She responded with a smirk.

"Not even pregnancy hormones can make me like pickled beets," Guidance grimaced slightly. "Oof!" she held a hand over her tummy, "I think I made these a bit too realistic."

"Yeah well be glad one of yours isn't a fake rabbit baby." Swift Heart told her.

Gentle smiled shyly, "Twins feeling a bit restless Guidance?"

Guidance nodded, "Yeah, they woke me up three times last night." She looked up at the other two, "How long do you think you'll wait for the real thing?"

"Years. Several long glorious kicking and nausea and back pain free years. And yeah mine woke Grumpy up the other night they were kicking so hard," Swift Heart said.

"Probably the same," Gentle Heart added. "I don't think I'm ready for the real thing."

"Not sure, depends on how the child raising part goes, but definitely not right away," Guidance said turning back to the pizza they were preparing.

Picking up one of the carrots Swift Heart retrieved ranch dressing from her boyfriend's fridge. Squeezing it over the carrot she took a bite. "I think we should make a dessert pizza along with the three others."

"Sounds tasty. What do we make the crust out of?" Guidance asked.

"Same as a regular one. Just with icing dribbled over it." Swift Heart told her. Finishing the last few bites of her carrot she went to wash her hands. Her belly met the sink rim before her hands could, making her groan. "Obnoxious." Tilting forward slightly she was able to reach the faucet. "I can make it if you guys want to do the others."

"Thank you Swift Heart, that would be nice," Gentle Heart said.

Taking what she needed, Swift Heart moved to the kitchen table. There she had enough space and would assure she didn't run into the other two. Grumpy's kitchen wasn't large as it was but with three pregnant women in it space was a rare commodity. Rolling out her dough she then began smearing chocolate sauce on it. "So Gentle, how are you and Bright Heart doing?"

"Very well actually," Gentle replied. "Even with this surprise assignment our relationship is going well." She blushed, "Once I graduate I think I'd like him to move in with me."

"Really?" Guidance Heart asked, surprised.

"Yeah really? That's awesome! Good for you guys." Swift Heart said with a smile. "I can't imagine he'd say no."

"I just have to convince him to turn his house into a standalone workshop. I'm not leaving my garden!" The sharpness in Gentle's last few words startled Guidance and Swift Heart.

Dropping her spoon Swift Heart moved over to the lamb, "Gentle you okay?"

Gentle smiled, "Sorry, just hormones, and I like my garden."

"I understand. What about you and Grumpy, Swift Heart? Anger Heart and I already live together," Guidance Heart asked.

Resting her hand on her stomach she said, "Well after Fauna had died, we began spending a lot more nights together. It got to be really nice waking up to him every morning. I would love to live with him, but I'm like Gentle. I like my burrow too much to leave it. But things are good," She finished with a smile.

"Why not convince him to turn this place into his own workshop?" Gentle Heart asked. "We could team up to convince our boys to turn their places into a workshop and second home. Maybe even combine the two so it won't be so cramped."

"I've thought about that. But then I realize if I ever do have a family, it would be much harder to make my burrow bigger than it would be for Grumpy to just build a room onto a house," she told them.

Nodding Swift Heart returned to her work station. "But like we've said, we have time before this becomes a reality." She rubbed her tummy once more before returning to work on the pizza.

"So how do you feel, Friend?" Defiant asked as he escorted her back to her house.

"My ankles are starting to swell and I'm feeling a little achy. I'll be glad to get home and put my feet up," she responded.

"Want me to carry you?" Defiant offered.

Laughing Friend shook her head, "Oh Defiant that is so sweet. But A) I don't think you could, and B) I'm pretty sure being folded in half around this thing would be even more uncomfortable." She placed her hands on either side of her stomach. "I can make it really."

"I could carry you," Defiant said. "But if you don't want to that's fine."

Grabbing onto his arm she kissed his cheek, "I'm fine. But I appreciate the offer."

Defiant smiled as they reached her house and Defiant opened the door for her. Secret was sitting on the couch with a huge bowl of ice cream and she waved to her girlfriend and Defiant as they entered.

"Hey honey." Moving to stand behind the couch she bent down to kiss Secret hello. When they separated she asked, "Did Lotsa make that for you?" She nodded and offered Friend a spoonful. Eating it her eyes lit up, "Mmmmm that's delicious."

Defiant smiled at the couple. "Looks like you two are happy."

Secret motioned for Friend to sit down, then her eyes went wide and she held her tummy, feeling a few small bumps on the surface.

Falling onto the couch with a sigh Friend reached over to feel the kicks. "Seems like it's happy too. Has it been doing that a lot today?"

Secret nodded, setting her spoon back in the ice cream bowl on the table. Suddenly her eyes lit up and she moved over, hugging Friend close. Secret's "baby" began kicking and Friend's started kicking in response.

Friends expression lit up as well, "Oh wow." Putting her arms around Secret she stared at their touching bellies as the "babies" inside kicked. "Defiant you gotta feel this, it's crazy." Raising her voice she called, "You too Lotsa!"

Defiant moved closer and put his hand on the touching tummies. Lotsa came in, "What, what is it?" he asked.

"Whoa, that is crazy!" Defiant exclaimed.

Lotsa chuckled and smiled at Secret, "I guess our theory about feeding the baby to quiet it didn't work out huh?" She smiled and shook her head before pointing to her tummy. "Yea I want to feel." Coming over he too put his hand on it. A kick instantly hit his hand.

"This is pretty wild stuff," Defiant said again.

Lotsa Hearts eyes got all gooey. "I can't wait till this happens for real. I love kids." Secret agreed, pointing at herself and forming a two with her fingers.

"You too eh?" Defiant asked. He looked to Friend, "You want kids someday too?"

"Yea. I think being a mom would be so much fun." Friend told him. "I know I was freaked out by all this at first, but I'm starting to warm to this whole thing."

"You want kids sooner rather than later?" Defiant asked. Secret gave him an odd look. "I'm just curious."

Friend shrugged, "Not tomorrow or anything. But I don't want to wait too long, that's for sure."

Secret whispered something in Friend's ear. Friend listened then blushed before turning back to the boys. "Secret asked if you'd like to help us have kids when we're all ready."

Lotsa grinned from giant ear to giant ear, "Really? And then they would be our kids right? I would be their dad?"

Secret pointed at Defiant. "Me too?" he asked. He thought about it for a minute then smiled. "Sure, but let's see how the whole kid raising part of this goes first."

Friend and Secret both laughed, "True! If any of you can't handle a dirty diaper or being spit up on then we are in serious trouble."

"So how do we want to do that?" Defiant asked, "Just split into our couples or keep doing this as a group?"

"I think for the project True and Noble expect us to mostly work as pairs. But we could help each other out." She smiled at her girlfriend. Secret nodded enthusiastically.

"Sounds good, what do you think, Lotsa?" Defiant asked.

"I think this calls for more ice cream." Lotsa returned to the kitchen to make sundaes for Defiant and Friend.

Defiant smiled. "You know, I feel a lot better about this stuff these days. I had a nice long talk with Bedtime last night."

"Did you? And he was helpful?" Friend released Secret so she could recline back once more. Massaging her belly she propped her feet up on the table.

"More than you know," Defiant said, taking a seat as Friend scootched over for him.

"You two were very needy last night, and I was having that nightmare again every time I dozed off. Finally I just had to get outside and... well my mind started to go down a dark path..."

Defiant panted as he burst out of the house, trying to breathe in the cool night air. "Gotta get away," he muttered as he speed walked away from the house, his mind wandering to something he had tried to push away. "Far away from everything, forever."

"I wouldn't say you're far away from everything," a voice called out.

"Who's there?!" Defiant whirled around, as if trying to spot a phantom or monster.

Bedtime Bear emerged from the dark, holding a steaming mug of what smelt like cocoa. Looking more awake then Defiant had ever seen him he said "Take it easy buddy. It's just your friendly night watchman."

"Oh right," Defiant didn't relax however and he turned about to walk away from the bear.

"You want to talk about the dream?" He asked the badger, sipping from his mug as if he had all the time in the world.

Defiant stopped, "You know about my nightmares?" he asked.

"Of course. It's my job to keep up with these things and I'm a certified psychiatrist," Bedtime replied.

"You're a psychiatrist." Defiant finally turned to face Bedtime.

He smiled, "Earth isn't in peril every night. I had to find something to keep me busy. Plus Wish always said I had a very clear view on things." Sitting Bedtime motioned for Defiant to join him. "So please, talk to me about it."

Defiant looked back to where he had been going to walk, then back to Bedtime. Something about the night watchman had a comforting warmth about him so Defiant sat down. Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to talk about it..."

-~-~-~-

"We talked for about an hour and I started to feel better. Eventually he took me back inside and helped me get to sleep," Defiant said as Lotsa came back in with sundaes for the rest of them.

Friend took her sundae from Lotsa. "Good for Bedtime. And for you. I'm glad you have someone to talk to." Taking a spoonful she ate it.

"Well not just him." Defiant offered his hand to Lotsa, "there's you Lotsa, and of course you and Secret, Friend."

"And that's the truth." He gave Defiant a quick kiss before going to sit next to Secret.

Defiant blushed and smiled, "Bedtime told me I just had to realize that. I love you Lotsa."

Looking excited friend and Secret turned to Lotsa for his response. "I love you too. But Bedtime didn't tell me that," he teased his boyfriend.

Defiant blushed, "Thank you Lotsa. Sorry I've been so depressed lately."

Friend scowled at him, "Don't apologize for something you can't help." Resting her bowl on her tummy she could resume rubbing the spot where the kicks were. "We understand Defiant." Lotsa nodded in agreement.

"Thanks," Defiant got up and walked over to Lotsa. He bent down and gave the elephant a kiss. Secret cooed and dipped her spoon into Friend's bowl, snuggling up next to her.

Love Heart entered the small meeting room in the Hall of Hearts where Tenderheart and Brave Heart were already seated. Love Heart was wearing his heavy cargo vest over otherwise normal clothes as he took his seat. "Sorry I'm late. I had to help Confidence with something."

Brave Heart smiled at him, "Don't worry about it dude. I just got here. I usually run a little late to these things. Wanna make sure Tenderheart has time to get all his notes together."

He playfully poked the bear, making him scowl. "Knock it off Brave Heart. I don't have that many notes."

Love Heart chuckled slightly, "Well thanks for inviting me to this."

"Well you are the leader of the Care Bear Magi right?" Brave Heart asked.

Love Heart nodded, "Koran said that I was going to be a real leader once he finished training us. Where are True Heart and Noble Heart? I thought they attended these things too."

Tenderheart shook his head, "Not anymore. They really want Brave Heart and I to take more active roles in leading the others. If we need help they are more than happy to but mostly it's just us now."

"Right." Love Heart nodded, "I guess I'll be concerning myself with potential threats that might come around but I'll do my best to help with other matters, I'm still kind of new to most of this."

"We also use the time to talk 'bout how things are going with our respective groups. If there are conflicts or anything that needs resolving we try to help with that too," Brave Heart said.

"Right. I don't have much news to report but I do have a few things I want to talk about," Love Heart replied.

Grabbing his pen and paper Tenderheart nodded to Love Heart. "Alrighty, go ahead."

"Well I've spent quite a bit of time catching up on stuff that's gone on up here in the last couple years and some things about the Wonderland and opposites incident concern me. Those two Care Bears that kidnapped Swift Heart and then sort of tried to help No-Heart during the opposite's attack, Shatter Heart and Blade Star, have you heard anything from them since then?" Love Heart asked.

Brave Heart shook his head, "Ain't heard a peep from them since then. Kinda slipped my mind honestly. I just figured they'd forgotten about us."

"Well the description of their powers sounds like elementalism, specifically sound for Shatter Heart and strength for Blade Star, the same kind that Defiant Heart's learned to use," Love Heart said, his arms folded.

"And that's why you have taken an interest in them? Because they have similar abilities to you and your group?" Tenderheart asked him.

"Mostly it's that elementalism is supposed to be a dead art, at least that's what Koran always told us," Love Heart replied. "Elementalists were often hunted down in the past because, unlike magic, anyone could learn it without needing expensive or rare weapons or resources and elitist leaders didn't like that because they couldn't regulate it like they could with weapons, it was more destructive than martial arts, and these days most people would be afraid of anyone who can use that kind of power. As far as he knew he was the last practising master of the art."

"So you want to know more about them because they are members of your endangered species as it were," Tenderheart asked for clarification.

Brave Heart scowled, "I don't recommend searching those two out. They were not pleasant and I'm pretty sure Swifty would have a break down."

"What I want to know is: who taught them?" Love Heart clarified, "Koran told us a lot about his past and other students never came up so that worries me."

"Maybe there was someone else he just didn't know about."

"I think that's his point Brave Heart. He doesn't like the probability that that is fact," Tenderheart told the lion.

"Exactly, even though anyone can learn elementalism you need to know how to actually do it; it's very rare for someone to figure it out on their own," Love Heart agreed. "Also were all the opposites accounted for when that incident ended? I know that Renegade and Grateful are good now and you said the rest died when No-Heart and the Spirit decided they weren't useful anymore but I need to be sure: did you miss any of them?"

Tenderheart and Brave Heart both sat thinking, counting over the roster in their heads. Brave Heart could remember scattered moments from when he and some of the others had been turned feral, and in one flash he saw a monkey disappearing out a window. "Ah think Playful Heart's may still be out there. Serious Heart was her name." Growling he slammed a fist down, "Damn it! How'd we let that happen?"

"If she really was Playful's opposite then she probably decided that it was getting too crazy and decided to run before she got killed. A sensible choice considering what happened," Tenderheart said. "Come to think of it I didn't see those remaining superpowered opposites there either."

"Superpowered opposites?" Love Heart asked.

"Snowy Heart's opposite was called Flare Heart and she created a fox made of fire to attack and Loyal Heart's opposite, Treachery Heart, could create shields the same way that Loyal Heart can make weapons. They disappeared after we all got de-crystalized," Tenderheart explained.

"And that just leaves Delay Heart. But he's still in Wonderland. I don't think he could do elementalism with his new job requirements," Brave Heart concluded.

"Delay Heart?" Love Heart asked.

"Swift Heart's opposite. We don't talk about him much because of what he did to Swift Heart but she managed to capture him and we sent him to Wonderland to be the new white rabbit. His mind was... wiped but we couldn't kill him so it seemed like the best solution." There was a note of regret in Tenderheart's voice.

"Decisions like that are hard to make," Love Heart reassured him. "But that was the right choice."

"Swifty didn't want him dead anyway. She said it would have been an easy way out for him. And she told me there ain't no way he was coming back from being the White Rabbit without some serious help. It strikes me that his fellow opposites were not the helping kind," Brave Heart mentioned.

"Well those two, Shatter Heart and Blade Star, have me worried. They said they wanted revenge and I doubt they'll give up," Love Heart said.

"Why?" Tenderheart asked.

"Because we didn't give up on revenge against Hunters," Love Heart replied.

"What should we do then?" Brave Heart asked the Magi leader.

Love Heart sighed, "I honestly wish I knew. All I know about them are their powers, their desire for revenge, and that they have a mirror that lets them teleport. I guess all we can do is be on our guard. At least now we'll have a better chance of dealing with them when they show up."

"Now when you say deal with do you mean..." Tenderheart had to take a breath before he finished his sentence, "kill them?"

Love Heart shook his head, "I don't know, Tenderheart. A year ago or even a few months ago I would have said 'yes' without hesitation, but after hearing about everything and how Grateful Heart and Renegade were reformed I'm not so sure. I know I need to be decisive but I can't help but feeling that they have a chance and now that I've had a chance to step back and look at my actions I realize that anger and a desire for vengeance were clouding my judgement for years."

"We'll cross that bridge when come to it. Like you said, we had successes before. Maybe if we need to we can do it again and Renegade and Grateful would probably be willing to help. Tenderheart, why don't you have Bedtime keep an eye out for these two during his night rounds?" Brave Heart suggested.

"I'll talk to him tonight," Tenderheart said. He turned back to Love Heart, "I will say that, as far as decisions went you probably made the right choice about the hunters. As tragic as it was, from what Fauna told us they would have come after us eventually and their actions would have taken humanity down a dark road."

"Thanks, Tenderheart." Love Heart smiled, "I don't want to have to do that again but... yeah. Well going to another issue: what about your other enemies. I know No-Heart is basically not an issue anymore but what about that... umm chilly heart?" Love Heart tried to get the name right.

Brave Heart laughed, "Ha! You mean Cold Heart? As in Professor Cold Heart? That popsicle brain hasn't dared make a move since he sent some snow monsters our way. We took care of 'em easy enough."

"Do you think he might try something soon?" Love Heart asked.

"I wouldn't put it past him, but he was less of a threat than No-Heart." Tenderheart groaned, "I mean that whole 'concrete rain' thing was just so stupid..."

"I completely forgot about that! Yeah what was he thinking? It was almost as bad as when he sent the fortune telling robot up here. I can't believe we fell for that one as long as we did." Brave Heart rolled his eyes at the foolishness of it all.

"We were just kids back then, Brave Heart, we've learned to see through stuff like that," Tenderheart said.

He nodded. Turning to Love Heart he asked, "Anything else you need to discuss with us Love Heart?"

"Nothing comes to mind. Anything else we need to talk about?" Love Heart asked.

Brave Heart looked around to double check no one was listening in. Leaning forward he whispered, "I think Harmony is losing her mind. She keeps goin from wantin to kill me to practically knockin me into bed. I don't think I can take it much longer. We need to do somethin next week for the gals before their heads explode in frustration."

Tenderheart nodded, "Calm Heart's going into full on nesting mode lately."

"Well Confidence is getting more aggressive but she's doing more Tai'chi to calm down lately. Any suggestions?" Love Heart asked.

"What if we arrange a spa day or something for them? It will help them to relax and give the guys a chance to show how much we appreciate what they are going through even though it's for a short amount of time." Tenderheart suggested.

"That's a great idea!" Brave Heart slapped him on the back, making him grunt.

"Sounds good, but how do we do that?" Love Heart asked.

"Oh I'll ask Perfect. I'm sure he'll have some ideas and we can meet up to discuss things tomorrow," Tenderheart said.

"We should probably do it this week, so Cozy Heart and Grateful Heart can take part. From what I was told they'll be pretty stationary next week," Love Heart suggested.

The other two nodded in agreement. "Well if we don't have anything to discuss, meeting adjourned?" Brave asked.

"Adjourned," Tenderheart said, standing up, "I'd better go see Perfect and make sure Calm Heart isn't driving him crazy."

"Yeah. See you all tomorrow," Love Heart said as they headed out the door.

After the meeting wrapped up Tenderheart returned home. His mind was busily trying to sort through all the things Love Heart had said. He should have known things were going too perfectly. An old enemy always managed to show up when things were smooth. Opening the front door he called, "I'm back."

"Oh thank the Wishing Star!" Perfect exclaimed, moving in to hug his boyfriend, "Calm Heart's going organizing crazy right now!"

"Well why didn't you try distracting her with something else?" He asked Perfect while slowly moving into the house and looking around for Calm Heart.

"I can't I mean she got into that mess of DvDs we got and just went from there and I don't know what I could distract her with. She's too focused," Perfect said, moving to drop on the couch.

"Well where is she now?" Tenderheart asked him.

"In our bedroom." Perfect pointed to the room in question.

Nodding Tenderheart headed down the hall to see if he could dissuade Calm Heart's current activities. Reaching his bedroom door, he saw her flicking through things. "Hey Calm Heart. Whatchya doing?"

"Going through everything. You haven't had much time to re-organize lately," she commented, as she was going through their linen closet, refolding and sorting the blankets, sheets and pillowcases.

"You don't say. I thought everything was pretty well organized." He took a hard swallow, trying to keep his OCD in check as he saw Calm putting a set of striped blankets on a set of polka dotted ones. "How about I make some tea and you come sit for a bit?"

"That would be nice, Tenderheart. Call me when it's ready," Calm Heart said.

Moving forward he took her hand, "Come with me now. The closet is organized enough." He gave a little tug to pull her away.

"Oh alright." Calm Heart huffed and allowed Tenderheart to help her up.

Sighing in relief he helped her to the family room where Perfect was still sitting. "I know you want things to be a certain way Calm, but you gotta make sure it works for me and Perfect as well."

"Your DVDs were just a messy pile before I got through with them," Calm Heart retorted as they entered the kitchen.

Counting to five Tenderheart waited before replying, "And I'm sure it makes more sense now to you. But the system worked just fine for me before. But thank you anyway." Moving to the stove he put the kettle on.

Calm Heart watched Tenderheart as he made the tea before asking, "So how was the meeting? Did Love Heart raise any issues?"

"He did. He informed me and Brave Heart that he had concerns about quite a few of our old enemies and how he is sure they are planning something. Also about how it sounds like elementalism is involved."

"I wouldn't be surprised. At least he's stopped seeing ghosts around every corner now," Calm Heart said.

Tenderheart looked over at her, "Are you being literal or sarcastic?"

"Quite literal. While we were looking after Fauna, Love Heart kept expecting any remnants of the hunters to pop up and attack us at any time. It took us weeks to get him calmed down," Calm Heart explained.

"Well that hardly seems healthy. It borders in paranoia even." As the pot whistled, he poured some hot water into a cup and dunked in Calm's favorite tea bag. "Here you go." Once he had put hers down on the table he made some for himself and Perfect.

"That's part of why Swift Heart's speech hit him so hard. He's gotten over it though," Calm Heart reassured Tenderheart as he carried tea for himself and Perfect into the living room.

"At least she's calmed down," Perfect said as Tenderheart handed him a cup of tea.

"I told you. Distraction works. Plus my OCD really couldn't handle the way she was redoing the linens, so I had to stop it," he teased.

Playful giggled, "I know how you prefer the bedding done. But she did actually get our mess of DVDs organized, Prefect pointed to the rows of disc boxes that were now lined up on the shelves, whereas they had previously been frequently just scattered everywhere around the entertainment center, the one real mess in the house.

Glancing over them quickley Tenderheart felt himself nod, "You're right. That is better. Maybe some good will come of her need to organize. Now do you think you are brave enough to come in the kitchen and keep her company or will she scare you off again?"

"I was just stressed, Tenderheart." Perfect swatted him lightly on the shoulder, "I'm not used to someone just going nuts over a project at home without talking about it first. I mean we talk about everything before we do stuff and this is really the first time she scared me. Those mood swings aren't something I'm good at handling."

Laughing he kissed Perfect's cheek, "Yes you are. I just find it funny you were so flustered."

Perfect just blushed, "Aww well I'm not that bad." He tried and failed to hide his embarrassment.

"Don't be embarrassed love. It's part of what I find so endearing about you," Tenderheart assured him.

"Thanks, Tender," Perfect gave him a kiss. "So what did you talk about at your meeting?"

He quickly filled Perfect in on what Love Heart had said about Elementalists. "We also decided to do a spa day for the girls to show them we appreciate what they are going through."

"A spa day hmm?" Perfect smiled, "I think I have a few ideas that could help you with that."

"Great! We'll need all the help we can get." They headed back to the kitchen to keep Calm Heart company. "Need a refill?" Tenderheart asked her.

"Yes. Thank you, Tenderheart." Calm Heart held up her mug to the bear who took it and gave her the requested refill.

"Feeling better?" Perfect asked as he took a seat next to her.

"A bit. Sorry I went a bit crazy earlier," Calm Heart apologized.

"It's no problem," Perfect assured her.

"Believe it or not, we've grown used to the unpredictableness of this pseudo-pregnancy," Tenderheart informed her.

Calm Heart smiled. "You two have adapted remarkably well to this whole situation," she complimented them.

"If there is anything else we can do for you let us know," Tenderheart reminded her. "Aside from being allowed to finish organizing the linen closet," he joked.

"You've done plenty so far, I think I'm good for now," Calm Heart replied.


	24. Family Care Arc, part 5

Chapter 24

_Looking into the mirror on the cave wall Fauna brushed her hair, humming happily to herself._

"_You seem happy."_

_Turning she smiled to Blue who was leaning against the doorway. "It's date night. Of course I am."_

_Pushing off from the wall he walked over to her, his smile lighting up his eyes, "Me too. I've been dying to have time with you. It feels like we haven't been alone together for weeks." He slipped his arms around Fauna, kissing her slowly._

_Reaching her hand up she let it skim over Blue's cheek. Pulling back she said, "Well we haven't been. Not technically anyway. But tonight will make up for that. Even if we can't be totally alone."_

_Smiling he said, "It's alone enough for me." Together they both looked down as Blue put a hand on Fauna's pregnant stomach._

Fauna woke up with a scream and shot bolt upright in bed. Her fingers were digging into the sheets and her body was covered in a thin layer of sweat. That was the third night in a row she'd had a dream in which she was pregnant. It was driving her crazy. "Stupid experiment getting in my head! All I want is one night's sleep." She said to no one in particular.

Looking over the edge of her nest she could see the sun just starting to peak through the peaks of Onyx mountains. That meant she had a few hours before Blue would be coming to get her for their date day. That part of the dream had been true; she couldn't wait to spend the whole day with him.

Attempting to get a few more hours of sleep she lay back down and closed her eyes. "So help me if I'm pregnant again I am going straight to a healer and having them permanently fix that problem."

Later in the morning Blue walked to Fauna's nest with a bouquet of flowers and a tune whistling from his lips. He had the entire day planned out. First they would go for a swim in the inland sea of the Falls, followed by a hike through the flower fields, and then a romantic dinner on top of the waterfalls.

Fauna was ready and waiting for Blue when he arrived. Smiling as soon as she saw him, she bounded into his arms, hugging and kissing him.

Pulling back Blue showed her the flowers, "These are for you."

"Oh Blue, they're gorgeous." Holding the bouquet Fauna took a sniff. "Mmmmm and they smell good." She gently put them in her nest and took hold of his hand. "So do we really get to have the whole day together? Just the two of us?"

Nodding Blue kissed her hand, "I told the council that aside from the Falls imploding or being sucked into a black hole, I did not want to be disturbed."

Fauna rested her forehead against Blue's, closing her eyes briefly. "That sounds like a perfect day to me." She smiled as he kissed her again.

After a few moments of this, Blue asked her, "You got your bathing suit on?"

Smirking she stripped her top off over her head, revealing a light blue bikini top with palm trees on it. Blue's eyes widened briefly making her laugh, "Yup. Race you there!" She took off into the trees laughing.

Blue scrambled after her laughing as well, "Hey wait up!"

"Alright, does everyone know why we're here this early in the morning?" Tenderheart called out to the assembled men of the Kingdom of Caring.

"Because you're insane enough to drag us out of bed when we were finally getting a good night's rest?" Anger Heart asked.

"Why aren't Noble Heart and Loyal Heart here?" Champ demanded.

"Because _they_ actually _have_ families to take care of so they have been exempt from this since day one," Tenderheart replied as he glared at Champ.

"I'm actually not minding being out of the house. Harmony has started talking in her sleep." Brave Heart commented with a yawn. Shaking it off he continued, "And no Anger Heart. We decided we need to do something nice for the girls to show them we appreciate what they are going through. So get out yer gentle hands boys and practice usin a small brush, cause we are doing a spa day."

Several groans were heard until Perfect began clapping loudly to quiet everyone down. "Now everyone this won't be so bad. I can show you how to do massages, paint nails and all sorts of things so just follow my leads and you'll do fine. We need to get you all ready for when the girls get up."

Lotsa cleared his throat, "I know how to do nails too. I used to help the cousin girls because they could never get their left hands."

"I actually can too." Champ mentioned without looking up from the ground. When those near him began to snicker he quickly said, "Cheer made me!"

"Well then you two can help me instruct the others. Now let's get going, boys!" he called, leading them into the Forest of Feelings where they were planning to set up the spa day.

A few hours later, the girls stood before a large banner strung between two trees. On it was written, "Forest of Feelings Day Spa"

"Is this really happening?" Friend asked, head cocked to the side as she looked the sign over. Cheer looked horrified; her hand was over her mouth and she was just staring.

"It is sort of sweet they thought of this." Funshine offered.

"You don't sound too happy about this," Calm Heart observed.

Swift Heart snickered, "Oh they are just nervous about some of our boys doing beauty treatments on them. I'm pretty sure they will not go too far over their heads though. Relax Cheer." She hit the pink bear lightly on the shoulder.

"Well nothing ventured nothing gained," Gentle Heart said, though she hesitated to step forwards herself.

Another minute passed with no one moving until Confidence sighed and stepped in, "Let's at least see what they have going."

Brave Heart was there to greet them. He was in white scrubs and had peace beads hanging around his neck. In a calm voice he said, "Welcome to the day spa ladies. Please follow me for your complimentary beverages." Turning he began walking without even checking to see if they were following.

Harmony was gripping onto Swift Heart, both looked like they were about to errupt. "Swifty if you start, I won't be able to help myself. I do not want to kill his mood."

A small snort of laughter escaped Swift Heart's mouth, "I'll do my best, but he was so-" Harmony nodded quickly giggling a little on her own. The girls followed Brave Heart and came upon a table with all different flavors of iced tea.

"Your spa guides will be with you shortly. For now relax and look over the services we offer." He handed each of them a list of things before disappearing.

Funshine couldn't resist giggling too, "He's certainly committed to this."

"He's committed alright," Love-a-Lot said.

"He always takes things that extra step." Harmony affirmed.

"Oh it looks like he may not be the only one this time." Share pointed to some of the other boys coming towards them; all were dressed similarly to Brave Heart.

Glancing at her list real quick, Cozy saw Lotsa was doing pedicures and Jolly and Playful Heart were giving foot rubs, "Hey Sssswifty? Want to ssstart there?"

She nodded. "Hey Birthday, can you take us to the foot section?"

He bowed to them, "Your mere wish is my command."

"I would like a back massage," Confidence said. "Anger Heart, Love Heart, Illusion and Tenderheart are doing those." A few looks from the others made Confidence add: "Love Heart's good with his hands."

"Anger Heart too," Guidance chipped in.

"Illusion makes three." Gloria said. "You girls enjoy and tell him I'll see him later." She was heading off with Cheer, Love-a-Lot, and Treat Heart to get her nails done.

"Well what's left?" Wish asked.

"There is the meditation corner with...wait my eyes must be messed up...does that say Grumpy?" Friend asked while pointing. Secret nodded looking just as shocked. "Oh we have to check that out." Friend confirmed.

"I'm in!" Funshine added as she heaved herself up, "Where is it?"

A group of Star Buddies hovered in the air by their heads to get their attention. Wish nodded and told the girls, "They say they will take us to Master Grumpy's serenity center." She winked with a giggle.

"Oooh, _Master_ Grumpy now." Funshine couldn't resist a laugh.

"How's the pressure love?" Jolly asked Cozy from his spot on the floor.

She trilled happily, "Sssso nice Jolly. Sssso sssso nice." She was almost limp in her chair as Jolly rubbed her feet. He chuckled and kept going. Playful was working on Swift Heart, resisting the urge to just tickle her instead.

"Which color do you girls want?" Lotsa came over with a few on a tray.

"Oooo I like that pink one Lotsa." Swift Heart indicated which she meant.

He grinned, "Electric Bubble gum it is. And you Cozy?"

"Whatever. I am not opening my eyessss for the next ten minutesss." Jolly laughed at her and Lotsa attempted to pick a color. Starting on Swift Hearts nails Lotsa put on his best salon worker gossip voice. "So tell me, what's new? What's happening? How's the boy?"

She grinned at him, "Oh you know, 13 months pregnant, can't remember how to walk without waddleing, and he is driving me nuts."

"Oooo so buisness as usual!" He teased. When he got to her other foot a butterfly landed on his trunk, tickling it. Lotsa's face scrunched up and he began to sneeze, "UHHH UHHHH UHHHH" Swift Heart was able to draw her legs away just in time. "ACHOOOO!" He sneezed so hard the polish came flying out of the bottle and splattered all over Playful Heart.

"Haahahahahahahahah oh Playful, that is definitely your color." Swift Heart couldn't help but laugh.

"I always knew it would bring out my eyes." Playful batted them making Swift Heart laugh harder. Cozy too was laughing, making it hard for Jolly to hold onto her foot.

"I'm sorry Playful! Here is a towel." In his haste to help his friend, Lotsa knocked over the other bottle, spilling it over Cozy Heart's entire foot. "Oh no!"

She waved off is concern, "Relax Lotsssa, it will come right off."

"Yeah no worries mate. OI'll help ya." They began to clean up Lotsa's mess with Swift Heart helping Playful get the polish off before it dried.

"So where did you get these anyway?" Confidence eyed the massage chair warily.

"Had to get them from a speciality store, dragging up here was no cakewalk," Anger Heart said.

"The people at the store said they would work for any pregnant lady," Love Heart added.

"Well like Gentle said, nothign ventured." Guidance Heart carefully placed herself in the first chair.

"I did say that," Gentle added, entering the massage area and looking over the seats.

Harmony too had come with them and was lying face down on a special massage table. It had a large indent in the middle that cupped her belly comfortably. It also took the pressure off her back. Illusion slowly slid her hands down her spine, kneadin as he went. "Oh man, Gloria wasn't kidding. Your hands are like magic."

He chuckled, "Merci cherie."

"Mmmm, lower Anger, my back needs it right now," Guidance Heart said as her boyfriend kneaded lower.

"You know I'm just improvising, right?" Anger Heart asked.

"Well whatever you're doing it's good," Guidance replied.

Illusion squirted some warm lotion onto Harmony's back. She made some indistinguishable comment but it sounded happy. "You femmes don take much do you." He moved the bottle where Love and Anger could reach it.

"Depends on how we feel," Confidence commented as Love Heart began to massage her back.

Gentle Heart was trying to relax, but the fact that someone other than her boyfriend was touching her like this was making her nervous. "I promise Bright Heart won't mind. And it's just me. You know I take my work very seriously and would never act in an unprofessional manner." Tenderheart remained on her shoulders until she was more comfortable.

"I know. It's just new to me." Attempting to chill she rested her hands on her stomach and took a deep breath.

"Besides last I checked, you weren't Tenderheart's type," Guidance Heart added, sighing as Anger Heart pressed harder on her lower back.

Tenderheart nodded, "She is missing a few things." Looking around for the heated towels he moved one hand off Gentle Heart's shoulders.

Gentle Heart squirmed a bit when the pressure shifted, unfortunately the shifting weight on dirt didn't take well to her movements and she began to topple over.

"Look out!" Love Heart's reflexes caused him to dive, moving to try and grab her chair before it fell but his foot caught on the side of Confidence's chair, knocking the massage oil over and causing him to land flat on his face. Confidence tried to steady her own chair but her foot pressed into the oil and slipped.

A moment later Love Heart was groaning, the weight of the two massage chairs, Gentle Heart, Confidence and their imitation babies on top of him.

"Medic..." the bear groaned.

Fauna and Blue were currently sunning themselves on the banks of the inland sea. She was on her stomach letting her back get some much needed sun and Blue was building some sort of sandcastle. It wasn't going well though, his walls didn't want to stay upright.

"Want help?" Fauna offered.

"You are helping. You are inspiring me."

Opening her eyes wider she asked, "I am?"

Nodding Blue pointed to the one extra rounded wall. "This is modeled after your shapely bum." Next thing he knew he was being pummeled by sand.

"You are such a dude!" Fauna informed him, laughing all the same.

Protecting his head he headed for the water, hoping to escape her barrage. Standing and walking after Blue she continued flinging the wet sand at him until he was under water. A few seconds passed and he surfaced, preparing to taunt her. Getting a good look at her however he quickly covered his eyes with his hands

"Umm Fauna? I think you forgot something."

Looking down she gasped and quickly crossed her arms over her naked chest. "Crap! I forgot I untied it so I wouldn't get tan lines." She turned to retrieve it.

"It's all good babe! Now I know what my castle towers will look like." He laughed as the now covered Fauna came into the waves after him. Diving once more he began to flee.

Friend, Secret, Funshine and Wish all followed the Star buddies to where Grumpy's serenity center was.

"What do you think it will be like?" Funshine asked the others.

Before they could answer a gentle gong sounded. Grumpy stepped around it as the sound faded. He had found rose colored glasses somewhere and had a large wooden peace sign on the beads around his neck. "Welcome to this serene place. Please choose a pillow and sit, making yourself and your babies comfortable." He told them in monotone while indicating the super plush pillows on the ground.

Secret whispered something to Friend, who just giggled as she chose a pillow, "Yes I think he's serious."

"Well let's see how serious," Funshine said. As she sat down she found her larger tummy in the way as she tried to sit up, as if sensing her predicament her "babies" started kicking up a storm. "Oof!" She rubbed her tummy, trying to calm them.

Grumpy shuffled over to her, "Breathe in Funshine. In to settle your chakras and out to relax your body and mind." He demonstrated what he meant. Funshine took a deep breath and carefully breathed out, following Grumpy's instructions and her tummy calmed down; she was finally able to get into a sitting position.

Leaning down he whispered, "Swift Heart has the same problem. We found this helps." Winking at her quickly he resumed the exercise. "All right. All together. Breathe in, clear your mind, calm yourself, and exhale all negativity." Using his mallet he ran it gently over his chimes, face remaining solemn.

"This is calming," Friend commented.

"Yeah who knew Grumpy could do calm so well." Funshine agreed.

Grumpy rang another tune on the chimes, "Continue to make your mind as empty as a cookie jar."

"Cookie jars aren't always empty," Funshine told him.

He scowled, "They always are in my house." His character break made her giggle.

"Now Funshine, stop poking the bear," Wish tittered. She too was unable to resist a laugh at her own joke, as was Secret, who had her hands pressed to her mouth.

Grumpy composed himself after a quick eye roll. "And breathing iiiiinnnnn, and oooouuuuutttt." He chanted again. It took the girls a moment to compose themselves but they managed to follow Grumpy's instructions.

Grumpy spoke again "Continue to relax. Think soothing thoughts. I will be lighting some incense to create a soothing atmosphere." He moved to do so. After lighting one he gently wafted the smoke distributing it. Hearing a snicker and a click he once more looked at the girls. Funshine had her phone out and was clearly texting on it.

"Funshine? What are you doing?" It was clear he was fighting to keep a calm voice.

"Oh just making sure Swift Heart knows about this side of you," she chuckled as she said it.

"Aww that's so thoughtful of you Funshine," Wish said. "I can't wait to see what she thinks."

"No phones. Its messing with the tranquility," Grumpy told them. Shockingly he was ignored.

Funshine's phone went off and she read the text aloud, "She says she is laughing so hard she's pretty sure she's going to go into labor early."

"I wonder what that would look like," Friend said aloud. Secret whispered something to Friend, causing both of them to start giggling.

Stalking over Grumpy took Funshine's phone. "Aww come on Grumpy!"

"Meditate and you'll get it back," he told her.

"Sounds like the old Grumpy's back," Wish teased him.

Pursing his lips he replied, "Yeah well apparently you all didn't appreciate Master Grumpy. So just forget about this meditation session. See if I care if your fake babies pummel your insides constantly."

"Aww Grumpy don't be like that," Friend said.

"Yea we're sorry. Look here is us being serious." Funshine straightened, placed her hands on either side of her tummy and resumed Grumpy's breathing exercise. Wish followed suit, doing her best to maintain self-control as she breathed, until a sudden batch of hilarity hit her and she burst out laughing which caused a chain reaction with Funshine who fell to her back, laughing hysterically.

"Wow, never seen such a happy mood swing before," Friend commented. Secret Bear was starting to crack up as well, holding her mouth shut to forestall it.

Grumpy just threw up his hands in defeat, "I guess this beats the other kind."

Proud Heart, Loyal Heart, Noble Heart and True Heart were at the little playground near the Forest of Feelings with their children, observing what they could and listening in on the events unfolding within the forest.

Loyal Heart winced when he heard the crash from when Love Heart had accidentally ended up underneath two massage chairs. "Sounds like they've taken on more than they can handle," he observed.

"Well at least they're trying," Proud Heart said as she watched her son Trust Heart digging in the sandbox with a small shovel.

Noble was pushing Hugs in the swing gently "Yes. This was a good idea, even if it was executed less than ideally."

True heart was watching Grumpy lose control of his section. "I must say, I never had a laughing mood swing."

"Me neither, but if anyone was to get one then I'm not surprised that it's Wish and Funshine," Proud Heart commented.

Tugs crawled over to see Trust Heart's bucket. Saying something in baby talk he waved his arms in the air. True Heart laughed. "Tell us how you really feel sweetie."

Noble chuckled as well. "I wonder if any of them have just started crying. I hated when you did that."

"Believe me honey, I didn't enjoy it either," she told her husband.

"I heard some noise coming from Brave Heart's house earlier this week," Proud Heart said. "I just hope no one gets hurt today."

"They should be alright, I doubt any of them are in real danger," Loyal Heart reassured her.

Blue and Fauna sat on the blanket at the top of the waterfall, watching the sun sink below the horizon. She was in his lap, curled against his chest. Blue's arms encircled her, keeping her warm and just to hold her close. Resting his chin in her hair he whispered, "Today was perfect. I'm going to hate going back to work tomorrow."

"Then don't. Let's go run off somewhere." She knew he would refuse but she wanted to offer it all the same.

Sure enough Blue kissed her before saying, "You know I can't. But I will try to find more time off."

Fauna wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'd really like that. It doesn't even have to be a whole day. I'd be happy with a few hours."

"Yea but I'm not. I'm selfish," He teased back.

Fauna gently moved his hair out of his eyes, "I like selfish."

Leaning forward he kissed her again, briefly. "We should probably get going if we Don't want to fly in the dark."

Fauna nodded and got up off his lap. Together they cleaned up their picnic and tied it to Blue's back once he had gained his true form.

When he dropped Fauna off at her nest she asked, "You sure you don't want to stay over?"

"Sorry babe. I have an early meeting. And if I was late because I was with you Tonar would be relentless."

She scowled and Blue swiftly moved in to kiss her. Hands resting on her sides he moved his thumbs under her shirt hem. Fauna got all tingly and pulled Blue closer. "Mmmm babe. If you keep going I won't be able to let you leave."

He chuckled and slid her hands around to rest on the small of her back. Separating his lips from hers he said, "I better go then. Love you."

"Love you too. Thanks again for today." Kissing her goodbye he shifted once more and trotted away.

Heading to her nest Fauna wasn't paying as much attention as she usually did, her mind was busy replaying the day. So the blue portal of light forming had to get very large before she realized it was there. Seeing her nest lit up by the ghostly glow she looked around in confusion. "What the heck is that?" Walking up to it she stuck an arm through and pulled it back out. Nothing happened so Fauna smiled "I do love a good adventure." Without another thought she walked through the portal. It vanished as soon as she did, leaving Fauna's nest empty once more.

Despite the accidents along the way, the spa day was deemed a success by the girls.

Cheer examined her nails, "They look fine Champ. I don't know what you were whining about. I get polish on my fur too when I do them."

Champ frowned, "yeah but I got it on me too." He showed off his pink spotted hand.

Giggling she kissed his cheek, "Come on babe. I'll make you some wings and we'll find a game to watch." Perking up Champ took her hand and they headed for home.

"YOu feeling alright?" Confidence asked. Love Heart was rubbing his back where the massage chairs had fallen on him.

"I'll be fine," He reassured her, "We've been through worse."

"If you're sure. Now let's get home and get some rest." The couple headed for their home.

Perfect was watching his feet as he and Tenderheart escorted Calm Heart back. "My toes look so good! Maybe I should paint them and get pedicures more often."

"When did you have time to do that?" Calm Heart asked the panda.

He chuckled "I had Lotsa help me. It was around the time Brave Heart was trying to get the massage chair back from Playful."

Tenderheart shook his head, "I don't know what he was planning to do with it."

"I don't think I want to know," Calm Heart said.

"Well it looks like you all survived, not all unscathed," Proud Heart commented as she watched the groups return from the spa day.

Swift Heart nodded, "Some of us with our dignity, others not so much." She looked at Grumpy out of the corner of her eye.

Scowling he grumbled, "I was trying to set the mood."

"Don't be like that, Grumpy," Funshine said. "I'm sure Swift Heart will love seeing that side of you."

She nodded, "I wouldn't mind Master Grumpy making an appearance every now and then."

"Yeah well we'll see." Even as he said it he put an arm around her shoulders.

"Well I think you all should get some rest and get cleaned up." Noble Heart noticed flecks of pink still stuck to Playful Heart's head, "Some more than others," he added.

The first thing Fauna noticed about this new place was that there were three moons in the sky. Even though it was clearly still daytime, the half-moons could be seen all hanging together above the horizon. The next thing she noticed was the clutches of eggs surrounding her feet. They were larger than any eggs she had ever seen, even larger then ostrich eggs. However Fauna couldn't look at them long, because the parents of the eggs were less than pleased by her appearance.

Hearing a loud hiss behind her, Fauna saw a velociraptor crouched, preparing to leap at her. She didn't have time to think of anything else every instinct in her body had her running out of there as fast as she could.

The raptor and his friends closed in behind her, chasing her from the nesting grounds. Normally Fauna would have either shifted into a faster form or one that could fight off the raptors chasing her but just now her body was all but shut down in terror over what would happen if they caught her and she knew she wasn't fast enough so she couldn't risk slowing down to shift.

Seeing the trail split ahead Fauna turned down the left one. The trees looked closer together here so she was hoping she could find someplace to swing up into one. Heavy breathing to her left alerted Fauna her pursuers were closing in on her. "Shit! If I get out of this that's the last time I ever go through a strange portal!" Fauna's heart sank even further when she saw she had come upon a clearing. In the open she knew it would be a matter of seconds before the raptors tore into her.

One of them gave a growl and leapt into the air, hind legs poised to dig his long talons into her. Before he could do so a large shape exploded into the clearing and snatched the raptor in its mouth. The other raptors turned and ran as soon as this new dinosaur came on the scene;

the noise and activity behind her had made Fauna turn and in doing so she lost her balance and fell to the ground. Propping herself halfway up she watched as the tyrannosaurs rex flung the raptor back into the trees, roaring something after him.

Fauna was frozen all over again, but this time for an entirely different reason. Here was the one creature she wished she could have seen in the flesh. Sure she was able to gain a T-Rex form, but that wasn't the same. He embodied everything truthful about his species, it wasn't just a shape he could wear, and now she was watching him save her life. She was awestruck by this turn of events.

The rex finally turned and focused his attention on Fauna. Blood was smeared around his mouth from biting the raptor. Before she could figure out what her next move should be, the t-rex's mouth spread in a wide bloody grin. "What on earth could you have done to piss of an entire nest of raptors?"

Fauna felt her heart hammering in her chest. "I guess I am just too appealing. They couldn't resist me," she yammered out. "On that note, and believe me I'm not encouraging this, but how come you are talking to me instead of eating me?"

He laughed, a deep rumbling sound that echoed through the clearing. "Oh believe me it crossed my mind when I thought you were just an ordinary human. But I can see now you aren't human at all and I don't care what that is because it's also clear to me we are kindred spirits." Seeing his response confused her, he turned his great head so his right eye was visible or, more accurately, the closed eye socket with the large scar down it. Fauna reached up and touched her own scar on the left side of her face.

"My turn to ask a question, what exactly are you little morsel? I sensed something new enter my jungle and even though you look like a human I know you are not." His nose lowered to her and he huffed out a blast of air as he sniffed her over.

Fauna laughed, not really capable of much else. "I think it's better if I just show you." Gently pushing his nose off her she stood and gained her Pegasus form. Now she was able to fly up and be at eye level with him.

The rex looked surprised, "I've never seen anything like you before."

"I'm not shocked. The same goes for me, I mean I know all about your kind and all but you are all dead back home."

His face fell, "I know. This world was created to preserve the last of my kind and I was made its guardian. I keep the peace here and make sure certain dangers do not fall through the light circles. I'm assuming that's how you got here?"

She nodded, "And I suppose that's how I get home again right?" It was his turn to nod. "Awesome. Well until I find one to get me home, is it alright if I explore your world….um….do you have a name?"

He exposed his teeth once more in a chuckle, "I have several: the sleestacks call me thunder lizard, the other dinosaurs call me sharp tooth, but the one I like the best was given to me by a band of humans I hate the most. You may call me Scarface."

"It suits you. My name is Fauna."

"Well Fauna, since you are clearly my scar-sister, I would be honored to show you around my home." He motioned towards the trees.

Having an idea, Fauna landed briefly to gain her t-rex form. "I'd like that." Scarface gave another laugh at her new form and led her off into the jungle.


	25. Family Care Arc, part 6

Chapter 25

It was right before lunch time on Friday when Grateful, Illusion, Jolly and Cozy Heart were called to the Hall of Hearts. Upon arrival they were greeted by Noble Heart, True Heart, Loyal Heart, Proud Heart, their children and Guidance and Anger Heart.

"So, how were your weeks?" Loyal Heart asked.

Cozy smiled at Loyal Heart, "Not too bad actually. I won't missss the ssswollen anklesss but everything elsssse wasss fine."

"Yeah, OI 'ad things well in hand." Jolly said as he gave Cozy's stomach a final rub, making her giggle.

"I admit I'm going to miss this," Grateful said, hands on her tummy. "Swimming was even more fun; it helped with the weight."

Illusion nodded, "Oui. I won' miss wantin to tear all mon ami's heads of tho. Dat been rough."

"Talk about sympathy pregnancy eh?" Jolly teased while nudging him.

Proud Heart couldn't help but giggle, "Well just hand in your journals and we'll get on to your special part of this assignment."

"Alright." Grateful and Cozy handed their journals and Proud Heart nodded to Guidance.

"Here goes." Guidance's hands lit up and she shot them forwards. White energy flowed out of Cozy and Guidance Heart and their mock pregnancies vanished, leaving them looking normal.

"Oof, this feels so much better! Thank you." Grateful bent backwards, stretching her back.

"The real thing is much more painful," True Heart cautioned then paused, "Although probably not as bad for either of you."

"I don' know, I can't imagine layin an egg is dat bien either." Illusion commented.

Cozy nodded to him, "Itssss not from what I've heard. But it doesssn't last too long at least." Looking down and seeing her toes once more she giggled, "Hehe I know ssssome of the girlsss who are going to be sssso annoyed we got out of carrying the baby belly around."

"Maybe, but you have another responsibility now," Noble Heart said. He passed Tugs to True Heart, nodded to Anger Heart and Guidance as the fox helped hsi girlfriend out of the hall, then reach down and passed a box to each of the girls. Grateful and Cozy each opened their box and found what looked like a cantelope-sized egg inside.

"You'll have to keep those eggs warm for the next week. They have teperature indicators built in that will let us know if you're doing your assignment or not," Noble Heart said.

"Bright Heart said that once you opened the boxes you'd have an hour before they start tracking temperature so use the next hour to get home and get comfortable in your nests," True Heart said.

"Jolly and Illusion should bring home any school assignments for you for the next week, since I think you'll be mostly immobile," Loyal Heart added.

Cozy gently lifted the egg up in her flippers and held it to her chest. "I'm glad I ssspent the lassst few weeksss doing thingsss then."

Illusion crinkled his nose at the egg, "Desole ma belle. Gator moms jus bury de cache an guard dem from a distance."

"Well platypus curl up with them. Guess all that 'nesting' I did will help save time," Grateful said. "You won't mind waiting on me for a week will you, Illy?" she asked.

He gave her a quick kiss, "Not at all chere. I live to serve you an de bebe."

Jolly was looking his egg over, "OI think it has moi eyes love."

Cozy laughed at him. "Or at the very leassst your head ssshape. Letsss go put thisss egg to bed Jolly." He put his arm around her as they left the hall.

As they headed home Grateful had to voice a concern to Illusion. "Etienne... do you think we'll do well with the childcare part of this project?"

Etienne didn't answer her right away. He too had been really concerned about this part, so as with real married couples, he thought it was only fair she got his honest answer, "Don know chere. If I do tings like mon pere den dere no way we can go wrong. An if you jus follow yo instincts you should be good too oui?"

Grateful smiled, "I hope so. I want to be ready for the future when we do this for real."

"You expectin dat to be soon Glory? Cause if so den I'm afraid I'm gonna have ta break yo heart. Ain't no way I ready to be a pere fo' real."

"Oh no not soon," Grateful reassured him, "Just eventually."

He put his arm around her, holding her and the egg against his scaly side. "I tink when de time come fo' real, an we had enough time to prep we be jus fine."

"Good," Grateful Heart said.

In Cozy's igloo Jolly made his first stop the closet for extra blankets to line the nest. Cozy rocked the egg back and forth as she watched him, "Jolly sssweetie, I think it wasss fine the way it wasss."

Jolly smiled at her, "OI'm sure it was love. But OI jus wanna be sure since we keep it so frigid in here." When the blankets were in place he held a hand out to Cozy, "Give you a hand sheila?"

Cozy made sure she had a secure grip on the egg with one hand while giving Jolly her other one. He held her steady as she stepped into the nest and put the egg in the bottom. Taking her time to settle on top of it, Cozy made sure the whole egg was covered by her body. Jolly checked the themometer, "Roit oh. Almost at 96 degrees. An OI'll keep an oeye on tha clock and let ya know when ta rotate it. You need anything love?"

"Just a kissss for luck?"

Jolly gently cupped her cheeks and pressed his bill to her beak. "One fer Luck sheila." He kissed her again, longer this time, "An one jus cause OI love you."

Cozy smiled at him. "I'm ssso lucky to have you." Pulling up his chair, Jolly turned on the TV and settled down to keep Cozy company.

Terra Heart carefully range her digging claws over a vase she had just unearthed. "It feels real. How does it look, Trez?" she asked a she removed her claw to let the echidna have a better look at the object still half buried in the dirt.

Looking over her shoulder he nodded, "Looks real enough to me. Want me to unearth it or you got it?"

"I can do it." Terra Heart carefully pushed her digging claws down near the vase on either side, carefully forming a chunk of dirt around the vase, still keeping it encased in its dirt shell. She managed to unearth the vase, still technically half buried, and carefully scrape the dirt away from the outside. "I'll leave the more delicate work inside to you," she said as she passed the mostly clean vase to Trez, "You need eyes for that part."

"Ta sheila. OI'll take it to tha tent then." Patting her on the shoulder he got off his knees and headed to the tent where he cleaned up the artifacts they found. Already on his table was a broken necklace and some fragments of statues.

Terra carefully tapped the ground in her dig area then shook her head and stood up, following Trez back to their tent, "I can't feel anything else close to the surface anymore. I'll give it a rest before I try again."

Trez pushed a water bottle into her hand. "Drink. You been at it fer hours." Picking up his toothbrush he began to carefully remove the dirt from the vase.

Terra took two large gulps of water and took a seat, "Well I love digging and I love archeology. I've really found my calling down here. And to think a few months ago I was living in my den under a forest, without clothes even." she brushed the hat, shirt and shorts that Trez had gotten for her when she joined him.

Trez chuckled, "Crazy eh? OI nevah knew OI would enjoy 'avin a travelin companion as much as OI do."

"Thanks Trez. So what did we find exactly?" she asked.

"Looks loike an ol' vase." A bunch of dirt fell off the neck of the vase. Under it gleamed several precious stones. "Or not. Croikey this is a good haul. It's encrusted with gems Terra."

"Those really hard rocks that people find valuable?" She asked.

"Roit."

"Well that's a good find then." She smiled.

"Yeah. Soon as OI get 'er cleaned we'll take it inta town." Trez took a drink of his own bottle before returning to work on the vase.

"Sounds good."

It took Trez about 2 and a half hours to get the vase completely clean and then he had to go over it with his tools, making sure everything was authentic and it wasn't going to fall apart. Putting it in his backpack he took Terra's hand, "You ready?"

Terra yawned, having dozed off while Trez was working. "I'm ready, let's go." she let Trez help her up but then just stayed close as they headed into town.

Chuckling Trez supported her with an arm, "Come on ace, we'll get some moolah an then some grub."

"Sounds good." Terra sniffed. "What's that smell?" she asked.

"Yer nose is better 'an moine. Whats it smell loike?" Trez was looking around for anything out of the ordinary.

"Something spicy, but nothing I've eaten before. Reminds me of Etienne's cooking sort of," Terra replied.

Trez thought back through what she had told him of her time with the Care Bear Family. "He's the gator roit?" She nodded and he said, "Prolly somethin cajun then. Makin yer mouth water eh?" Now he could smell the aroma coming from a nearby restaurant.

"It is. We should eat there," she suggested.

"Sure thing Sheila. Wan't me ta drop you there an go fence this thing? Won take me longer than a tic of tha clock," je asked. There really wouldn't be much for her to do, and this way she could figure out what she wanted to eat.

"Yes, thank you." Terra nodded. Trez guided her to the outdoor restaurant in question then headed off to do his job while a server helped Terra to read over the available dishes.

Just as Trez predicted, the transaction took little time and he left the buyers with $20,000 in his pocket. Whistling to himself he headed back to the Cajun restaurant.

Meanwhile in the restaurant and unbeknownst to Terra, a trio was watching from the bar as she received her food. They had come in a little after her and had been intrigued to see someone so similar to themselves here and even more interesting was the fact she seemed to be blind. The group watching Terra consisted of three Care Bear Cousins, or rather they could be at first glance. One was a light and dark blue hyena, one an off white polar bear, and the final a shiny silver harpy eagle.

The eagle was perched on the back of the empty chair at the bar, her head feathers were rustling slightly as she looked the mole over, "You think she is one of them? One of the other kind?"

She asked her companions. "Da. They must be." Her polar compatriot told her.

The hyena ran a finger around the rim of her coffee mug as she looked Terra over. "They don't tend to wander this far from home. I'm not so sure about that." Sipping from the mug she continued to watch the mole.

"Thank you, my partner will be along to pay in a bit," Terra reassured the server before she dug in to her meal, cajun chili with thick bread. Thankfully she was able to use the utensils mroe easily now that she had had time to get used to them, after all her time with Treasure Hunt. Though she didn't speak up about it she could swear she heard someone mention her as a mole but nothing specific so she just ignored it as she listened for Trez to return.

Entering the establishment he easily spotted Terra, already digging into the chili. The waitress came over as he joined her, "Would you like a menu?"

He shook his head, "Got a burger?"

She nodded and he continued, "One of those an a beer please. Wha'evas on tap is foine." As she left Trez noticed the trio sitting by the bar, and conveniently they noticed him too. Without looking away from them he whispered to Terra, "You aware you bein watched sheila?"

"I thought I heard someone whisper my name but I didn't know who. Where are they?" Terra looked up from her food.

"Boi tha bar. Three of em. One bloke an two sheilas."

The eagle spun her head around to her companions, "We've been spotted. What do we do?"

"Ve should go and introduce ourselves ya?" The polar bear asked in his Russian accented drawl. They both looked to the hyena. She appeared to be their leader.

"Yes let's. I'd like to see just where their loyalties lie." Finishing her coffee she led the way to the table.

Trez sat up a little straighter, "They're comin over."

"Alright. What are they?" Terra asked, feeling the steps approaching them.

"They look loike us. Hyena, eagle, an OI'm guessin tha large bloke is a polar bear." The bear in question stood a whole head and a half taller than himself.

"Interesting." Terra nodded as the group finally came up to them.

"Yo, we saw you two from over there and couldn't help but notice some similarities." The hyena motioned to her companions.

"I'm Pitch Heart, and this is Torrid Heart and Glacial Heart." She pointed to the eagle and polar bear respectivley.

"Pry-vet." Glacial said which Trez took for hello.

"Nice to meet you, Pitch Heart, Torrid Heart and Glacial Heart. My name is Terra Heart Mole but you can just call me Terra," she introduced herself.

"OI'm Trez." He opted not to use the name the others had given him since he didn't really feel like a Care Bear.

"You two been here long?" Torrid asked them, cocking her head this way and that as she looked them over.

"No, we just came from a dig," Terra replied before spooning more chili onto a piece of bread and consuming it.

"Yeah we are just passing through as well. Going to meet up with some friends of ours." Pitch said while examining her paws. "Perhaps you know them? They look like us."

Trez nodded, "OI do. ran into 'em once. Not really wha OI call mates though." He told her. Pitch seemed pleased by this answer.

Trez indicated Terra, "The Sheila here lived with them for a toime."

He informed the group. "Oh did you?" Torrid leaned in closer to Terra, examining her.

"I did. Not much happened though and I hated living up in the clouds. Being able to feel the 'Bottom' where you stand on when you can't see if very unnerving," Terra replied.

Glacial gave a snort, "One would imagine so. Impractical to me it seems overall."

"Oh but Glacial remember what we discussed? When you live above it all nothing is impractical."

Torrid cackled and ruffled her feathers. "Too right Pitch."

Trez was only slightly surprised by her comment. He was beginning to realize this group might not hold the care bear family in the highest regards.

"Wanna join us?" He indicated empty chairs at nearby tables. Pitch smirked and shook her head, "No thanks. This is really only a stopover for us."

"How about you comrades? Care to join us?" Glacial asked them.

"Thanks for the offer but I'd rather stick with archaeology, it's so fun to dig around and find relics of ages past." Terra's blind eyes seemed to gain a faraway look, somehow.

"An OI'm all set. Not really the joinin toipe moiself," Trez said.

"Suit yourself. I'm sure we'll see you again." Pitch made a motion with her head and her two companions fell in line behind her as she left the bar. Trez watched them depart, not turning back around until the door closed behind them.

"Interesting people," Terra commented.

Trez nodded, "Wonder who they er meetin up with. That Pitch didn' sound loike she was aces with yer mates back home."

"Maybe not, but to be honest it was just too easy up there." Terra finished her meal before she continued. "I spent my entire life before that just trying to survive, at least predators mostly left me alone for some reason but once I joined the 'family' I didn't really have any responsibilities, not to mention they were all overly helpful because I'm blind. To be honest the one thing I really got from being up there was learning how to read braille."

Trez nodded as his burger arrived, "OI get ya. 's woi OI nevah went. OI'm foine with tha way things are." He paused to take a bite, "OI mean, could you imagine me outta tha dirt?"

"Honestly, no I couldn't," Terra admitted. "And this is much more fun and rewarding. I can feel so many buried structures by just walking over ruins." Terra was smiling the whole time she spoke.

"Makes glad fer the day OI found you. Saves me loads of time," he joked before biting into his burger again.

Outside the restaurant Pitch was watching the two with crossed arms and a cold expression. "You sure ve shouldn't be doing something vith them?"

She shook her head at Glacial, "No. They both made it clear any ties they had with the others are inconsequential now."

Torrid huffed, "But what if they know? What if they guess something and go running home? The others will not let us forget our mistake! They might even-"

Pitch cut off her hysterics with a look. "I said they are fine Torrid. Let it be. The others will care less about them. They'll care more if we are late though so let's go." She looked one final time at the echidna and mole before leaving for real this time.


	26. Family Care Arc, part 7

Chapter 26

"So you're serious, you found a world full of dinosaurs?" Nova still sounded incredulous.

"Could any of the others talk or just Scarface?" Renegade asked.

Fauna shook her head, "No only Scarface. But I mean the only contact I had with them really was hunting them so who knows! Oh! no the Sleestacks could talk. But they aren't really dinosaurs. More like dino human hybrids."

"Can we return to the part where you said you were almost torn apart by raptors?" Blue questioned from his place in the circle. He was rubbing the bridge of his nose, meaning a headache was coming on.

Fauna waved off his question, "They didn't even lay a hand on me. No problem. Besides Scarface rescued me."

"Yeah so you say. He could have just as easily chomped you."

"But he didn't," she replied to Frosty smugly.

"Is there any way we can go to this dino land or is it all random portals?" Nova asked.

"I'm trying to figure that out. I really want to be able to go back whenever I want. It was so much fun there!" Fauna looked at her friends faces, they still looked displeased. "Oh for pete's sake I made it home alive."

"This time." Red Snout chided.

"She's made it home from worse and my sister seems to have a knack for finding friends wherever she goes," Renegade said. "I won't be worried about her."

She threw her arms around Renegade, "Thank you Ren! Nice to know someone has confidence in me."

Blue groaned, "Fauna it's just that you seem to attract trouble along with new friends when you go places." She didn't seem to acknowledge him.

"So? Trouble's fun," Nova countered.

Fauna smiled to her, "Very fun!"

Thunder scoffed, "Hah! Fun for her, stress for us."

"So you are saying you wouldn't want me to take you there if I found a way back?" Fauna asked.

Thunder looked away briefly, "I never said that..."

She laughed at him and thought of something, "Hey Ren, do you think White Fang could help me out?"

"Probably. We can ask him if you want," Renegade offered.

"I'm sure Aurora'll be able to help too," Nova added.

"Awesome!" Fauna smiled excitedly.

"Yeah awesome." Blue and Red Snout muttered.

"Want to go see them now?" Renegade asked.

"If it's okay with these guys," she teased and pointed at her four closest friends. "It's possible I may stumble through another portal on the way or something and who knows where that will drop me!"

"Very funny," Red Snout muttered.

"I could be upended into a volcano."

"Okay we get it, easing off the protectiveness." Frosty rolled his eyes at her volcano comment.

Fauna went to each of them however and kissed their cheeks, "I like that you all are protective. I'm just messing with you." Returning to her brothers side she said, "Yes let's go now."

"Alright." Renegade stood up and stretched his wings.

"Don't leave me behind." Nova's horn glowed and she changed into an eagle, stretching her wings a bit and waiting for Fauna to shift.

It took Fauna less than a second to shift to her pegasus form. "Let's go!" She leapt into the air, leading the way to the artic.

When the trio was out of sight Blue let his wings sag and head shake, "Seriously guys? You let her find dinosaurs?" He was directing his question at the clouds, and no doubt the deities who resided there.

Thunder snickered, "Could be worse."

"How? How could this be worse?" Blue asked him.

"She could have brought Scarface here." Realizing his friends point he turned green in fret, making Thunder laugh.

Aurora's Pregnancy had just started showing but she was no less active than normal. At the moment she was going over some spell books relating to the lessons she was teaching Nova. "Nova is really pushing herself these days, I can't believe how much I had to force her to take a break," she commented aloud.

White Fang rested his muzzle below her ear nibbling gently, "It's amazing what a little motivation can do. For instance if you actually want me to make space for you in my work room, you could, oh I dunno, stop fretting about our errant apprentices for a moment."

Aurora smirked and closed her book, "Oh very well, Fang." She put on an air of mock exasperation as she stood up.

He smirked at her, "See how that works? Magic." He continued to groom her gently, moving next to her so their bodies were touching.

Aurora nuzzled him back. "It's a magic only you have," she complimented.

"Got that right," he stated proudly. "And now I shall go clean the schmutz off the side of the workroom for you to use." Licking her he moved off.

"Let me see what I can do to help," Aurora offered, attempting to follow after her mate.

"Just don't touch anything glowing...I don't need our foal being born with three heads." White Fang told her while gripping a sheaf of parchment in his teeth.

Aurora laughed lightly as she moved to help him organize.

Outside, Nova, Renegade and Fauna landed next to the igloo, Nova shifting back to her natural form as she landed.

"Just give me a second to check the inside," Nova said, closing her eyes, her horn glowing white for a moment.

"The inside of what? The igloo? What is she checking it for?" Fauna asked her brother

"Just making sure we're not disturbing anything," Renegade said.

"Nothing's going on, they're just clearing some space," Nova said, the glow on her horn ceasing.

"Cool." Just to be on the safe side Fauna called through the opening, "Heeeeey White Fang. We are coming in so just in case you and Aurora are indisposed, fix that."

Inside White Fang rolled his eyes as he heard them coming in. "Splendid. I just know she'll be asking me for a favor."

"Probably," Aurora agreed. The returned to the main room as Fauna, Renegade and Nova entered the igloo.

Fauna had forgotten up until that point that Aurora was expecting. She said nothing as the unicorn entered with White Fang. Instead she just smiled at them, "I hope I wasn't interrupting something important."

"Oh no just some normal nest work. Now spit out whatever you want. You know I hate pleasantries." White Fang snapped at her.

Fauna was hardly fazed, "I need you to make me a portal."

"My sister found this dinosaur land that you can only get to with random portals and she wants to be able to go back at any time," Renegade elaborated.

White Fang was quiet at first, never a good sign. Sure enough a few breaths later he exploded, wings going into the air, "What fakokta reason did you have for going to a dinosaur world! Did you just decide to wander through a strange portal and were like 'Huh, this place looks cool!' Honestly I don't know what goes through you kinderlachs heads sometimes."

"Let's leave them alone for a bit." Aurora had come around to Nova and Renegade. "I'll get you a snack while they go at it." She ushered them out of the room.

"Yes it actually happened a lot like that," she retorted. "And all I'm asking is that you open a portal for me somewhere here so I can visit the friend I made there."

White Fang shook his head in disbelief, "I am not opening a portal into a world full of vicious dinosaurs. Do you realize what would happen if they got here?"

"So just make it so it's keyed to me. That way it can only be used if I'm using it. That shouldn't be too hard right?"

From the eating area, Aurora winced as White Fang began bellowing all the reasons why Fauna's request was indeed hard.

"I was worried this would happen." Renegade sighed.

"Well I know those two, best to let them butt heads until one gives in," Aurora said as she made a quick snack for the three of them and began boiling water for some tea.

"I totally bet it's going to be Fauna." Nova said, doing her best to spy on the two verbal combatants.

Aurora laughed, "I agree. Fauna's stubborn but White Fang's tolerance for such people is higher than most people know."

White Fang had finished his rather impressive list and Fauna was attempting to keep her famous "whatever" look on her face. "I get it. Your busy and you aren't as good as you used to be."

White Fang snorted in disbelief, "What did you say to me?"

She smiled inwardly, she had him. "Well I just figured as the pegasus shaman who single handedly created the portals to our home, something as tiny as a portal for just lil' ol me to use would seem like child's play. But if you don't think you have it anymore, I can always ask one of the others."

The Shamans feathers were puffed up in agitation. "Those lug heads couldn't make a portal to get them from the top of Pearl Head to the bottom. Don't insult my talents with this bupkes about asking one of them."

"So you'll do it?"

"You will have your portal to your silly dinosaur world when the moon is dark in the sky. But it will be in a location of my determination and will be activated to my specifications. Got it?"

Smiling innocently, Fauna gave him a respectful bow, "Whatever you say White Fang. Thank you." Flicking her tail she trotted away from the old stallion, letting him grasp the fact fully of how she had tricked him.

Joining the others in the kitchen she saw some grapes on the table and took some. "All settled."

"So you'll be creating a portal for Fauna then," Aurora said.

Looking slightly embarrassed, White Fang had followed the smug looking Fauna into the eating area. "Seems that way." He looked over at the young mare, "You sure you don't have siren in your blood line? Your powers of suggestion are magnificent."

Aurora laughed, "Oh darling. All woman have that ability." Fauna laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Never seems to work for me," Nova muttered.

"You just got to practice more. I have four boys constantly at my disposal for just these sort of things. It gives me a slight advantage," Fauna told the unicorn.

"Maybe." Nova turned to Renegade.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh nothing." Nova smiled and gave Renegade a nuzzle.

"You're lucky I'm not turning you into a tree for your insolence," White Fang muttered

"I don't think Blue would appreciate that," Fauna said innocently.

"Actually I am confident the Kingsire would see my point of view on this matter." White Fang told her with a confident look.

"Yeah you're probably right," Fauna muttered making him laugh.

"Well then, as long as a portal to the place is being made, why don't you tell us about this dinosaur land, Fauna. What did you see in there?" Aurora asked.

Renegade rolled his eyes, "And here we go."

Fauna was already talking however, as animatedly as the first time around. "Well for starters, I landed in a nest full of veloceraptors and they tried to tear me to pieces. And side note, they have three moons there! Who needs three moons I ask you? But anyway, so I had to run from the raptors and that's when I met Scarface. He's a T-rex and he totally saved my ass." Her smile widened as she thought about him, "He is easily one of the coolest creatures I have ever met."

"Another realm of immortals?" Aurora asked.

"No no no. Dinosaurs. They are most definitely not immortal. Scarface says they die all the time around him." Realizing what she said she laughed, "Well besides for the obvious reason."

"But Scarface is immortal," Aurora said.

"How did you know that? I never said anything about it." Fauna's smile was slowly fading away as she looked at Aurora.

"You said he sees them die all the time around him, I just guessed," Aurora replied.

"Oh right. Duh. Sorry Aurora, my head is still kinda reeling from the whole thing. Yeah he said he doesn't know why he is the only one who doesn't die. But it sounds like he's had some pretty crazy shit-"

"Language young lady."

She snorted at White Fang, "pretty crazy stuff happen to him that's tested that theory."

"Maybe something made him immortal for a reason," Aurora suggested.

Fauna shrugged, "If it did he doesn't remember it."

"What was the environment like? Was it all the same or was it more like the falls?" Aurora asked.

"No it was all jungle. There are volcano fields and mountains bare of vegetation and a huge sea, but nothing as crazy as this," Fauna answered. "And Scarface lives in the coolest cave ever. It has these purple crystals in the walls that light up at night. Which is good because his night vision kinda sucks."

"You've been awfully quiet Fang." Aurora looked up to her mate, "Anything you'd like to ask?"

He tossed up his wings, sticking his nose in the air, "I believe I've said all I want to on the matter."

"If you say so what about-" It was then that Aurora noticed that Renegade and Nova were gone. "Where'd Nova and Renegade go?" she asked.

"They left? I didn't even hear them go." Fauna began looking around the igloo for them. "They aren't anywhere."

"Apparently they didn't find your story as interesting a second time around," White Fang told Fauna. She snorted at him.

"Then let them be, they'll be fine," Aurora said.

Fauna didn't seem bothered by their absence. "Well then let me tell you about all the other carnivores I saw."

"You better not if you want me to open this fakakta portal for you," White Fang told her.

Renegade and Nova, in eagle form, had flown off while Fauna was deep into her story. "So what should we do now?" Renegade asked.

"Well, let's see if Dagger's around, or maybe we can see how the 'wolf pack' is doing," Nova suggested.

"Well since we just left the 'wolf pack' we can find Dagger." Renegade suggested.

(Sure why not) "Alright," Nova's body began to glow for a second and she turne din mid-air. "She's over there."

"You mastered wild spells?" Renegade asked, eyes wide.

"Yep. Impressed?" Nova asked.

"Yeah, actually," Renegade replied as he followed her.

Dagger and a few of her friends were grazing in Willow Glade. It was well named because the droopy branched trees totally encompassed the area. One of their gang was in fact reclining in the shade looking absolutely content with herself. Hearing the approach of flapping wings, Dagger and the other one grazing lifted their heads to see who it was. "Hey Renegade, Nova."

"Hey Dagger, how's it been?" Nova asked, changing back to her natural form as she landed.

"Oh you know, same ol' same old." She smiled at her.

The grey mare with white wings and blue mane and tail came over as well. "So you are the unicorn," she said matter of factly.

Nova nodded, "Yep, my names Nova and this is Renegade, my boyfriend." She nuzzled Renegade to prove her point.

"Hi. Who are you?" Renegade asked, nuzzling Nova back.

The mare snorted at the PDA, "My name is Ice. Ice Leopard Seal."

"I didn't know you guys made it official," Dagger told them smiling.

"It's only been a week," Renegade said.

"Oh well then see Dagger. That's why you didn't get a formal announcement. Everyone knows you need to reach the week and a half mark for that."

Turning Ice called to the mare under the tree, "Flamer. Get out here. We have unexpected company."

"So which herd are you part of, Flamer?" Renegade asked as the mare left the shadows.

The mare was one of the most intricately colored individuals Nova had seen. From her nose to her tail she was orange and then stretching from her legs to her midsection red. The lower red met the orange in a pattern that looked like flames. She had black stockings on her front right and hind left legs and a yellow mane and tail. Her wings were black on the outside and red orange and yellow descending on the inside. "I am part of the red wolf heard." She informed them, smirking slightly as she waited for their reaction.

"The same heard as Red Snout?" Nova's question was obviously rhetorical.

"Do you know him all that well?" Renegade asked.

Flamer nodded, "Of course I do. We are heard mates after all. I don't see what everyone's problem with him is. I think he's funny when he gets all puffed up over the littlest things."

"Oh yeah, real charming. His tirades of malcontent never get old," Ice commented dryly.

"Yeah, it is funny to see him get riled up over nothing," Nova giggled remembering Red's reactions to Fauna's story earlier.

Dagger sighed, "Most of the time I swear he just does it for attention."

"Well came you blame him? I mean his home life isn't exactly stellar," Flamer defended him.

"What's his home life like exactly?" Nova asked.

Dagger was about to suggest Flamer didnt say anything but she was too late, "Well you know his dad is one of the five right?"

Seeing Nova had no idea what she meant Flamer gasped, "No way! You really never heard about the 5 Stallions who were banished for attacking a hunter base?"

"I haven't been here that long," Nova said. "No one mentioned that to me, probably since the hunters are gone."

"Well these five guys attacked a base because they had captured a friend of theirs. In doing so they killed more than half the Hunters there. The council ruled that their attack was unprovoked, and banished them to earth, stripping them of their immortality and pegasus shape. Red Snout's dad Dakota was one of them. So with him gone his mom had to raise her three boys on her own."

"Under normal circumstances, she would have been fine. But Sandz and Windz are the very incarnation of trouble," Ice added in her cold tone.

"Yeah what she said. So Red kinda fell through the cracks you know? Even though his bros go to visit dear old dad all the time he refuses to. He feels like his dad didn't really care about him."

"I see," Nova nodded. "I'm not sure what to think about that. It's a cruel irony for them that a third party intervened and annihilated the hunters."

"Have you made that astute observation to Red Snout yet. I'm sure he would find it fascinating."

"Leave her be Ice, she was just saying."

Ice looked to Dagger, "And I was informing her there was no need to state the obvious."

Flamer shook her head, "You'll have to excuse our ice queen here. She hasn't totally thawed out today."

"Well excuse me." Nova rolled her eyes.

"So what are you all doing?" Renegade asked, hoping to change the subject.

"We were enjoying a nice graze," Ice informed him.

"And we still are. You guys are welcome to join us," Dagger offered.

Flamer yawned, "Not me. I'm going back to my nap. I was up late doing...stuff." She looked away as her friends shot her a questioning look.

"What kind of stuff?" Nova asked.

Flamer smirked at her, "Oh just stuff." Humming to herself she returned to the screen of willow branches.

"She likes battle strategies. My bet is she came up with some really good ones," Dagger told Nova.

"Battle strategies?" Renegade asked, confused.

"Immortals have issues amongst ourselves too. Sometimes when these issues cannot be resolved, battle ensues," Ice informed him. "It has not happened for a very long time but Flamer wants to be ready for when it does."

"Makes sense. So do you see yourself as a warrior, Flamer?" Nova asked.

Flamer stuck her head out from the willow branches, "Yea. And I intend to join the Guard as soon as I can."

"We all do actually," Ice added.

"Sounds great. I've been learning how to fight lately, taking martial arts from Confidence Heart," Nova said.

Nova laughed, "HA! That's the funny thing about wanting to enforce a passive approach. They don't want to be hypocrites so they don't really bother to 'enforce' attitudes on anyone in the grove. Besides they're not really all that concerned as long as I don't go on a rampage in the human world. The only real thing they care about is preserving our race's reputation to the humans these days."

"Nova's getting pretty strong too," Renegade added.

"Well then when you feel confident enough, maybe you can try your hand sparring against one of us," Dagger suggested.

"Why not now?" Nova asked. "I've got nothing better to do and I want to see how I measure up to the stronger species of immortal equines."

The yellow mare smiled and pawed her hoof against the ground, "If you want. I can take you on."

"Alright Dagger, what are the rules?" Nova asked, smiling at her.

"First to draw blood wins. Normally we don't shift. We rely on our pegasus talents alone, including our magic fire."

"Then I won't change and only use the magic I learned from Aurora. Just watch my horn," Nova cautioned.

"Why, worried it'll get scratched?" Ice asked.

"If her horn breaks it could kill her or cripple her ability to use magic," Renegade replied.

"Plus it'll be kinda unfair if I use something sharp against you," Nova added.

Ice and Dagger both laughed at that. "If you are so worried about your precious pearl then maybe you shoudn't be sparring. And don't you fret about Dagger not having anything sharp. Her quips cut deeper than anyone I've known." Dagger beamed at the rare compliment from Ice.

"Oh I'm not worried, Ren's just concerned for my safety but I'm just fine." Nova pawed her hoof into the ground, "Let's do this shall we?"

"Flamer, they are sparring. You may wish to watch this," Ice called. Sure enough the fire colored pegasus re-emerged from the tree and stood between Ice and Renegade. Since Nova had signified she was ready, Dagger flattened her ears and charged at her. Once she was in range, she dropped her head low and attempted to bite Nova's chest. By staying low Dagger avoided the unicorn's cloven hooves. Instead she rammed into her, attempting to flip her since she was balanced on her hind legs. Nova was forced backwards from the hit but she twisted and managed to land right side up then rounded on Dagger, her horn glowed red and shot out a red beam at Dagger.

Dagger dodged sideways, but the tip of her wing was singed. She looked at it, "Impressize." Her eyes began to darken till they glowed dark green. Light daggers of the same color appeared in the air around her. Saying a word she sent them one after another at Nova.

Nova was panting by the time she avoided the magical daggers. "I admit, I wasn't expecting that." She grinned and charged, looking to bite at Dagger.

Dagger gave a little flap of her wings and flew over Nova to land behind her. "Like Ice said, you don't have to worry that I don't have a horn." Swinging her butt she hit Nova just knocking her askew. Nova stumbled and fell sideways to one of her knees and Dagger gave her a moment before running by her and nipping her butt. As soon as she felt the teeth, Nova lashed out with a strong kick, striking Dagger in her side rather hard with the tips of her hoof. Out of reflex Dagger snapped her teeth even more sharply on Nova's neck. She hadn't expected it to hurt so much.

"Match is over Dag," Ice called from the sidelines. Looking to her side Dagger saw a spot of red in her yellow coat.

Nova waited for Dagger to release her and stepped back. "You've got a strong bite, Dagger." She rotated her neck to make sure nothing was broken.

Dagger smirked, "So I hear. Sorry about that, reflex."

"You're fine Nova. All she did was pull a few hairs out," Ice told her.

"That's good." Renegade sighed then smiled, "You're good, Nova."

"Thanks Ren. Guess everything's paying off," Nova replied.

Dagger nodded, "Looks that way. Well done. Buuut don't let it go to your head. I wouldn't go challenging Renegade's sister anytime soon or anything." She gave Nova a congratulatory nudge.

"No way, I've seen what Fauna can do and I don't feeling like having anything broken," Nova replied.

Dagger chuckled, "No one does usually."

Flamer nodded, "Ain't that the truth. You should have seen Red Snout after she took him from the gang."

"I don't doubt it, after what he pulled," Nova said. Then she grinned, "But I'm not a meek, mild, evasive waif of a unicorn."

"No you are not. You are a rough riding, dirt slinging, bugs in your teeth, gritty unicorn." Flamer told her. Ice made a face at the mental image.

Nova laughed, "Not quite bugs in the teeth but thanks, Flamer."

"That's why I like you," Renegade said.

"Because she doesn't have bugs in her teeth? Or because she is a rough and tumble kind of girl?" Flamer teased him.

"Rough and tumble." Renegade gave Nova a nuzzle.

"Aww thanks Ren." Nova returned his nuzzle.

Gagging Ice moved off, "Let me know when that's over."

"Awww come on ice, a little pda never hurt anyone," Flamer insisted, but she was ignored.

"Does she have anyone in her life?" Renegade asked.

Dagger shook her head "And I don't think she will anytime soon unfortunately."

"What about you, Flamer?" Nova asked.

She blushed and pawed, "Well I sort of have an interest in being courted by someone."

"Want to talk about it?" Renegade asked.

"Not really. No offense but I just met you. And besides you kind of already know him and I don't want him to know that I like him. I'm working on a plan for that," she responded.

"I know him?" Renegade asked, then shook his head rapidly. "Never mind I won't say anything."

"Thank you. Believe me he'll know when I'm ready for him to" Her orange eyes sparked in excitement.

Dagger snorted, "Yea, as long as your plan doesn't maim him."

"Not sure I want to know what kind of plan that is," Renegade said, grinning nervously.

"Dagger Is only joking. My plans never fail and I mean NEVER!" Flamer told him cockily.

"You think she's just being conceited but unfortunately she is correct." Ice added from her new spot eating fruit off a tree.

"What kind of plans have you done before?" Nova was intrigued by what she heard.

"Mostly just stuff for my herd and my parents but I am the reason the spring festival for once didn't end with people conducting mating rituals in the open."

"What happened there?" Renegade asked.

"Basically I arranged for all the hormone driven idiots to witness their parents doing the mating dance in front of just anyone. Suddenly they realized maybe it was better left in private, like in the old days," Flamer explained.

"I couldn't agree more," Ice said.

"Smart move," Nova agreed. "So is there anything you wanted to do for the rest of the day?"

"I think the better question is what were you two planning on doing? We were already in the middle of our plans when you two showed up." Ice informed the couple.

"We just wanted to see Dagger," Renegade said.

"Ignore her, you guys are welcome to stay as long as you want," Dagger told them.

"Right but what-" Nova was cut off by Renegade, who put a wing in front of her mouth.

"Nova, you need to calm down. You don't need to be _doing_ something all the time," Renegade said. "Just do what Aurora suggested and relax for a bit."

"Yeah what he said," Dagger told her before resuming grazing.

Nova finally relented. "Fine." She lowered her head and took a mouthful of grass and Renegade joined her. Ice rejoined them and grazed next to Dagger. Soft snores were coming from the willow tree.


	27. Family Care Arc, part 8

Chapter 27

"I really appreciate you guysss coming to ssspend time with me. It'sss quiet when Jolly isss not here." Cozy told the girls who had come to visit her.

Smiling from her spot in one of the arm chairs, Treat Heart said, "Don't be silly cozy. We are more than happy to. Besides, Birthday has been a little too attentive lately and I could use a break."

"So what's it like, sitting on an egg all day?" Funshine asked, having taken a seat on the couch.

"Not very exciting I'm afraid. I have to conssstantly check the temperature and rotate it every six hoursss."

Swift heart's eyebrow twitched and she winced, "I think I would much rather have that than elbows and feet jabbing me every second of the day."

"So what do you do all day?" Funshine asked.

She held up a book for them to see, "Read mossstly and watch sssome TV. Jolly sssitss n it for an hour though every evening ssso I have a chance to get down to the river for a ssswim."

"That's nice of him. Wish I could shift these kids to Playful for a while and get some exercise." As if on cue her stomach shifted and she rubbed it to calm it down.

"Ssspeaking of exercissse, How are the water aerobic classsses going?"

"Good I think! I'm enjoying them at least," Treat Heart told her.

"Sssswifty? Dare I ask?" She teased the bunny.

"About the same as when you stopped coming," Swift Heart replied. Feeling another jab in her stomach she grunted and got up, "Cozy I am raiding your kitchen. The kitts only kick like this when they're really hungry."

"You know you are alwaysss welcome to help yoursssself."

One hand on her tummy Swift Heart waddled into the kitchen.

"Well only a few more days to go," Treat Heart said.

"Then we have to look after those little robot kids, or whatever Bright Heart and Grumpy are building," Funshine added.

"Have you seen them yet Swifty?" Treat Heart called.

Appearing in the kitchen doorway with a bag of pirate chips in her hand she nodded, swallowing before answering. "Yeah. But I've been sworn to secrecy."

"Aww!" Funshine pouted.

"Sorry Funshine. They are pretty proud of them and want to do a whole big reveal," Swift Heart said before eating another chip.

"At least share the food." Funshine heaved herself up. "You're not the only one with twins."

Swift heart held the bag out to her, "Think of it as me helping you exercise."

"Not much other exercise we can get," Funshine joked as she helped herself to the chips.

As she did her belly touched Swift Heart's making her jump slightly. Grinning she gave Funshines a pat, "Well you better believe Grumpy will be doing a lot of baby-sitting the minute I can run again."

Funshine giggled as their bellies touched. "What about those karate lessons from Confidence Heart?" Funshine asked.

"It's not Karate, it's Taekwondo, and yea I think I'm going to keep doing it. It was pretty cool. Plus then I can be good at something offensive," Swift Heart replied.

"Hope Grumpy's ready to babysit a lot." Funshine grinned.

~~~

"So you just lie there curled around the egg. I thought you sat on it," Wish Bear said, observing Greatful curled around her fake egg.

"That's what birds do. Platypus moms just cuddle up with it like this," Grateful explained.

"Lucky! You just get to lie around all day." Cheer huffed. "I can't find a comfortable position anymore."

"I _have_ to stay put though. It's hard to convince Illusion to take a turn since alligators don't sit on their eggs," Grateful said. "At least I'm never hungry."

"True! There could be worse houses to be stuck in," Friend agreed with a giggle.

Secret nodded rapidly in agreement.

"Speaking of which, how are things at your house, Friend?" Wish asked.

"Fine. Lotsa and Defiant are doing a good job," she replied looking to see if Secret had anything to add. Secret just nodded and gave Friend a little kiss.

"I'm still getting used to the idea of them as a couple," Cheer admitted. "I just forget sometimes you know?"

Wish agreed, "I forget sometimes too. It's nice to see Defiant over his depression."

The other girls nodded. "He had us worried for a while," Friend acknowledged.

Grateful reached for a book near her nest. "So how are things out in the rest of the world?" she asked.

"What are you reading Grateful?" Cheer asked leaning forward to look it over.

"Huckleberry Finn. Guidance said she thought I'd like it so she wants me to write a book report for class," Grateful replied.

"Well I suppose this is a good time for you to catch up on it." Friend acknowledged.

It was then Cheer realized Illusion hadn't made an appearance yet, "Speaking of the gator, where is he?"

"He went grocery shopping a while ago. He should be back soon," Grateful replied.

"Good, I can tell him how foolish he is being. I mean he can spend ten measly minutes incubating an egg."

"But Cheer, maybe he can't. I mean he is cold blooded so he doesn't generate heat like we do," Friend countered.

"He may be awhile. His list was kind of long." Gloria told her.

Cheer got up, slowly. "Well I have to be going. Champ wanted to have a date night tonight."

"That's sweet of him," Wish said.

"So how are things with you and Independent Bear? Growing closer?" Friend teased.

"Nope, we're just friends," Wish replied without a hint of embarrassment.

Friend smiled at her, "Good for you. You know it makes sense actually. Some really good friends do decide to have kids together. So studying platonic relationships in regards to child rearing is a cool thing."

"That's interesting," Wish said. "You two think you'll do that when you want to have kids?" she asked both Friend and Secret.

"We've sort of talked about it with Defiant and Lotsa already. We think we will be calling on them to be our sperm donors if we are still comfortable with it when the time comes."

Grateful made a face, "Not something I want to hear about but it sounds like your thought this through."

"Just some talk. I mean this," Friend patted her belly, "Has been the hot topic in the house lately."

Valiant was just returning to his house laden with groceries. He stumbled into his now much more organized kitchen and plonked them down on the counter. "I think that's everything."

Love-a-Lot was already in the kitchen and moved over to help Valiant unload the food. "Thanks honey, I was dying for some nutella." She pulled out the jar as soon as she found it but remained to unpack the rest.

"Thanks Love," Valiant gave her kiss and he pulled out the four loaves of bread he'd bought and began to unload the canned goods. "I never had this much stuff in my kitchen before."

"Well you never had a pregnant girlfriend before." She teased him, pinching his cheek lightly. "Oooh! You got marshmallows too!"

"Yep you put it on the list so I got em. I even got hot chocolate mix, I know it's the wrong season but I like the stuff." Valiant pulled the can of hot chocolate mix out of the bag.

"Mmmm that does sound good. Maybe I'll make us up some?" she asked him with a smile.

"That would be nice." Valiant patted her false-pregnant tummy. "Just a couple more days until this is gone."

Nodding Love-a-Lot placed her hands gently on her stomach, near Valiant's. "I think I'm going to be a little sad to see it go."

"You are?" Valiant was surprised.

She looked up at him, "Well yeah a little. I've liked this experiment: living with you, getting ready for pretend kids with you. When the belly goes it's all over and we go back to normal again."

"Well we still have two weeks with these eggbaby things, or whatever they are," Valiant tried to joke, but stopped when he saw that Love-a-Lot's face was serious.

Sighing she moved away from him, turning her back to him and resuming unpacking the groceries. "Forget I said anything. I'll start the hot chocolate as soon as I've unpacked everything."

Valiant went back to unpacking the other bag, unsure what to say as he began stacking the canned goods in what amounted to his pantry. Love-A-Lot set the kettle she to boil and slowly emptied hot chocolate powder into two cups.

"Are you going to be okay with handling the robot baby when it cries in the middle of the night? I think we should take turns with it." Love-a-Lot said.

"I think I can handle it," Valiant said. "Should it sleep in our room?"

"Probably. Then we can get to it faster." Once again Love-a-Lot's hand found its way to her belly, rubbing slightly, "Hopefully it won't be too fussy."

Valiant had finished putting his bag of groceries away and he just stood there for a moment as Love-a-Lot spoke. Then he moved behind her and put his arms around her, resting them on top of hers on her tummy. "Well if I'm the father it might be fussier."

The pseudo baby kicked at their hands making Love-a-Lot smile, "It looks like it agrees. Oh dear." She sighed again.

"You really like this don't you?" Valiant asked. "You want to have kids soon?"

"I like feeling maternal and I think I'd be really good at being a mom." Looking over her shoulder at Valiant she added, "Plus it's different for us up here than humans. We don't have to finish school or find a job or anything. We are already set."

"Well we do have to finish school but if we really go for it after this we can pass the exams this year," Valiant Heart said.

"I have faith in us," she told him matter-of-factly. "I think we will pass without any huge distractions."

"Thanks Love-a-Lot," Valiant leaned forwards to give her a kiss. Love-a-Lot kissed him back, bringing her hand up to rest on his cheek. It helped her kiss him through the awkward position.

Once the kiss broke, Valiant chuckled. "I wish I had a ring for this but I can get one later."

Love-A-Lot shook her head, "A ring for what? Us kissing in the kitchen? Honey I think earrings would suffice."

Valiant laughed, "Sorry, Love, but I thought you'd get it." He carefully rotated her so they were facing, his right hand on her tummy and taking her right hand in his left. "Love-a-Lot, will you marry me?"

Those words! She had longed to hear those words here entire life! Dreamed of all the different ways it would come about. Her emotions spiked and tears began to spill from her eyes, "Oh Valiant, yes! Yes I will!" Valiant drew her into a deep kiss, holding Love-a-Lot close; her tummy seemed to sense the excitement and it kicked excitedly. Love-A-Lot ignored it for the moment as best she could. Instead she wrapped her arms tightly around Valiant and kissed him back.

They eventually broke the kiss and Valiant rubbed her tummy trying to calm the fake child down. "And soon you'll have one of these for real, well as soon as you can," he chuckled.

As the baby calmed Love-a-Lot beamed at Valiant. "I love you. And you're sure you want this too right? I don't want you just marrying me so I can get a baby."

"It's sooner than I thought it would be, but yes I do want this." Valiant gave her a quick kiss, "I'll get you a ring next time I go down to earth."

"Oh I don't need a ring. I have you," She told him as she gave him a kiss. "But, if you are going to insist, I wouldn't be opposed to a lovely little tear dropped diamond."

"I could manage that. What kind of wedding do you want?" Valiant asked.

She smirked, "I have a few ideas in mind and several scenarios thought out. I'll tell you the best ones once I sort through them and see which you like best."

"Leave it to the mistress of love to have lots of wedding plans. Can't wait to hear your best picks," Valiant said.

"I think you will like one I have. Married at a lake early in the morning as the sun is rising."

"It would take some serious timing but I do like it. Now let's make some hot chocolate and relax for a while," he suggested. As if on cue the teapot whistled. Love-a-Lot moved away and went to pour water into their cups. She also grabbed the bag of marshmallows.

"Too bad it's not snowing outside, this would be a perfect winter night," Valiant said.

"Maybe we should call Cozy and see if we can borrow her snow machine," Love-A-Lot said as she handed him his mug.

"Maybe next time, it's late and I want to spend time with you," Valiant gave her a kiss and emptied some marshmallows into his mug.

Taking her mug she moved into the den and took stock of the area. Staring a small heart from her tummy symbol she sent it around, lighting the few candles she had been allowed to put out and dimming the overhead lights. As it turned on the stereo she sank down onto the couch, tucking her feet under her as best she could.

Valiant Heart carefully sat down next to her and took a sip of his hot chocolate. "I love the atmosphere."

"I couldn't do winter night, but I know how to do romantic night in," she told him while leaning against him.

"You always do." Valiant gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Harmony was sitting at the desk in Brave Heart's den going over the latest assignment she'd given her class. Her radio was on next to her and she was singing along to it.

"_I got this feeling on the summer day when you were gone. I crashed my car into the bridge, I watched I let it burn." _Her eyes widened at one students answer and she scribbled them a note in the margin. "_I don't care. I love it."_

Brave Heart was going over some notes as he walked in to his den. He smiled when he heard Harmony singing and closed his current notes as he headed towards the music.

The song had changed by the time he got closer to her. Harmony continued to sing along as she moved onto the next pile of papers. "_I'm going to pick up the pieces, and build a lego house. If things go wrong we can knock it down." _She couldn't hear Brave Heart coming up behind her.

"I love hearin' you sing while you work," Brave Heart said as he put his hands on her shoulders.

She jumped a little and gave a gasp. "Crimeny Brave, you made my heart do the rhumba!" Exhaling she tilted her head up to look at him.

"Sorry, I wasn't sure how else to show up." He bent down and gave Harmony a kiss.

She gave him a kiss back. "It's all good. You complimented my singing so how could I stay mad."

"I knew you couldn't." Brave Heart pulled another chair up to the desk to sit next to her. "How're your students doing?"

Rolling her eyes she picked up one of the worksheets, "They make noise like a pro...but if I ask them to re-write what they played and reference a scale, I get all sorts of non-rhythmic blues."

"Not everyone can have an ear for music like you," Brave Heart said.

"Yeah, but I'd settle for another body part for it: Lotsa has ears to spare and Grumpy could always clear out some 'tude for some tune," she teased.

Brave Heart rubbed Harmony's tummy, "I'm sure this one will be good with music."

Harmony shook her head and gently reminded Brave Heart for the dozenth time, "Nothing in there boo boo. Remember? Just a spell."

"Ah know, Ah just wish there was," he replied.

"I know you do," she replied. "Someday there will be."

"Ah I was hopin' someday soon, actually," Brave Heart replied, tracing his hand up her tummy.

Harmony did her best not to shudder but his touch was sending tingles up her spine. "How soon?"

"Ah dunno, as soon as you were willin'," Brave Heart replied, givin her a kiss.

"You're serious aren't you?" She was surprised. "You're ready to be papa lion?"

"Aren't you ready to be a mama bear?" Brave Heart asked.

"Some days. Others I feel so achey I just wanna curl up in bed and never move," Harmony told him.

"Where do you ache? I'm sure I could make it feel better," Brave Heart offered, giving her a kiss.

Harmony murmured happily against his lips, "I'll bet you could."

"Yup, just show me how," Brave Heart said. Paperwork forgotten, Harmony gripped his wrists and slid his hands over stomach and around to her back. As he was pulled closer she kissed him again.

"Right here," he began to rub her back then purred as they kissed again.

Harmony loved his purr. Twining her fingers in his mane she hummed back, "Perfect."

"Thank you," Brave Heart said. They kissed again then Brave Heart asked, "Wanna get married?"

"Keep rubbing my back and I'll do whatever you want sugar daddy," Harmony wasn't totally listening.

"If you're willing. Want a big elaborate wedding or do ya just wanna go get hitched in vegas?" he asked.

With the lack of kissing Harmony was regaining mental clarity. Drawing back from him she asked, "You trippin'? Did you really just ask me to take that long walk down the aisle with you?"

"I did and I'm not trippin'," Brave Heart reassured her. He carefully maneuvered her onto his lap.

"But, what's the rush? You thinking I'm going somewhere if you don't put a ring on it?"

"No real rush Ah suppose, but Ah do wanna spend the rest of my life with you. Why wait if we're sure already?" he asked.

She rested her forehead on Brave Heart's. "Boo, I couldn't imagine spending forever with anyone other than you. But I also don't need a piece of paper to say you belong to only me." Her fingers once more found their way into his mane.

"So you wanna just be 'mates' or somethin' with no special ceremony?" he asked.

"Just not a big official thing. I'm thinking more along the lines of a commitment ceremony." She kissed his nose, "But if you want a real wedding too we can do that. But I'm telling you now, I will not be rocking idealized society's traditional virgin white dress. So not my scene."

"I wouldn't force you to, Harmony. What kinda ceremony did you have in mind?" he asked.

"All our friends are there, and they each light a candle for us. Shows us we always have their support. Then you and I just speak from our hearts and make our promises to each other. And then we light a final eternity candle together."

"Sounds perfect. If ya want we could do it tomorrow," Brave Heart offered.

Harmony laughed, "Complete the hippie vision. I'll be sure to wear a flower wreath and wear a flowery dress that shows off my fertile frame."

"That would be lovely. What should Ah wear?" Brave Heart asked.

"Whatever you want boo." She kissed him slowly again, leaning into him.

"Ah'm not the best with fashion, so Ah'll let you choose for me. How does that sound?" he asked.

"It sounds like you are lazy. But whatever, I will find something for you to wear," she told him, flicking his nose for emphasis.

"Heh well Ah trust yer fashion sense, whatever you choose will be fine," Brave Heart assured her and gave her a kiss.

~~~

"Ah wasn't expecting somethin' so simple," Brave Heart admitted, looking over the white button up shirt and black jeans he was wearing.

Harmony was fixing his collar, making sure it lay flat. "Outside doesn't matter. Only thing I care about today is what's in here." She gently tapped his heart. Harmony was wearing a white high-low dress with black lace over the bodice, a scoop neck and capped sleeves. It carefully hugged her still mock-pregnant tummy.

Brave Heart embraced her and smiled, "Thank you. Now let's have our ceremony darlin'."

She kissed him, "Ready when you are."

Brave Heart smiled and led her out of the tent where they had been changing into the clearing in the Forest of Feeling where they had chosen to have their commitment ceremony. Their family was all there, each holding an unlit candle. Some were purple, some orange. Once Brave Heart and Harmony were in front of True Heart they would walk past the couple and get their candles lit by them; as the couple walked down the aisle a soft breeze made Harmony's skirt billow around her making her girlfriends smile.

"You look lovely Harmony." Love-a-Lot whispered to her making the violet bear smile.

"You always do," Brave Heart added as they finally reached their spot.

"Alright everyone. Before Brave Heart and Harmony commit themselves to one another, we want you all to come forth so they can light your candles. This shows the couple they have your love and support," True Heart said.

Harmony and Brave Heart picked up the lighters as their family came up to them. One by one, the family lit their candles, a few words of encouragement were given by some and smiles and winks by others. As their candles were lit they returned to their positions.

"Now you two will hold hands and recite your vows to each other," True Heart said.

Harmony began. Clasping Brave Heart's hand she ran her thumb over his knuckles, "Daddy-o, You know I dig every bone in your body. I promise to continue to love and cherish you as we grow old. I will always be there for you and be your rock in this crazy river of life. Don't stress the small stuff, because nothing is driving me away from you and I promise you are now and will always be my top priority."

Brave Heart took a deep breath and spoke his vows, "Harmony. Ah've known you for years and Ah've always been fond of you and lately, with us livin' together, Ah realized that Ah never want to be apart from you. Ah'll love and cherish you always, Ah'll look after you when yer sick or when you just need a shoulder to cry on. Now and forever, you're happiness means everything to me."

Harmony smiled at him. "I know you will."

True Heart spoke again, "If you two are serious about what you have said, light this eternity candle together. And may your love and devotion for each other burn as hot and steady as this flame you create together." She placed the candle in front of them. Harmony turned sideways to better reach the candle. Brave Heart and Harmony each took a long match offered to them by True Heart and carefully struck it. They brought the matches together and lowered the burning ends onto the eternity candle's wick, setting it alight and as it lit their friends applauded.

"This concludes your ceremony. Congratulations you two."

Turning to Brave Heart Harmony kissed him. Brave Heart kissed her back, hugging her close. The spectators moved forward to put their candles in a circle around the eternity candle.

Harmony broke the kiss. "There see? It's official. You're mine now. And everyone knows it."

"Ah always was. Now let's go home shall we?" he asked. She nodded, still not willing to let go of him.

Brave Heart was able to guide his new wife out of the crowd and back to his den. He carefully opened the door inside the cave and they headed inside. "Ya know, dressed like that you look like a goddess," Brave Heart said once they were inside.

Holding her arms out to the side she gave a slow twirl. "I feel like one too. This dress is bawlin'! And super comfy."

"Yep, my own fertility goddess," Brave Heart teased, moving in to catch her carefully before giving her another kiss. She returned the kiss pulling him as close as she could. Harmony then began to undo his shirt buttons just enough to run her hands over her new mate's chest.

Brave Heart purred as he felt her hands on his chest. "You really should keep that dress, for when we have kids for real."

"I was planning to. It fits me all the time because of the cut." She paused to kiss his chin. "I forgot to tell you how nice you clean up."

"Aww shucks Harmony." Brave Heart blushed.

"Shucks huh?" Unbuttoning a few more buttons she started to slip off his shirt. Stopping suddenly however a hand flew to her belly, and she bent over slightly "Ooooh. Not so hard. Mommy is celebrating."

"That'll be gone the day after tomorrow, it need to make room for the real thing." Brave Heart bent down and kissed Harmony's tummy, slipping his shirt off as he did so.

"Not so soon. Gimme a little recovery time." Her hands rubbed circles on her belly getting the kicking to stop. Looking Brave Heart over she made a satisfied noise "I got me one fiiiiine feline."

"And Ah have one sweet groovy bear," Brave Heart replied.

"Yea you did. Too bad you dig this dress so much. I was going to ditch it," she teased.

"If you wanna take it off I could dig that too," Brave Heart answered, giving Harmony a kiss.

Laughing slightly she replied, "We'll see. I wouldn't want your rippling pectorals to be distracted by my bodacious bosom."

"But they go together so well," Brave Heart teased back.

Harmony kissed him quickly a few more times. "Gimme three minutes and I'll make you a happy man." She disappeared into the bedroom.

"Ah shall await your return, great fertility goddess," Brave Heart called after her.

Sure enough three minutes later Harmony reappeared and lent against the doorway. In place of her dress she now wore a sheer black nighty and a black garter around her thigh. "Don't you know all goddesses have a naughty side? Even the fertility ones."

"Ah knew that." Brave Heart grinned and approached her, hugging her close and giving her a kiss, "How else can they earn their title?"

Kissing him she giggled, "How else indeed. This goddess commands you to make her happy."

"And so Ah shall. Where does she want me to make her happy?" Brave Heart asked.

Looking around Harmony spotted the sofa. "Been awhile since we were there and it won't kill my hips like the kitchen table."

"Very well," Brave Heart carefully guided Harmony to the couch and helped her down onto it. Resting her arms on the back of it she posed seductively; back arched slightly and head tilted up.

Brave Heart growled, "You are one sexy goddess." He moved carefully onto the couch and kissed her stomach, right on the tummy symbol.

"Mmmm yea." Her fingers ran down his face. "And I'm all yours. Well almost." She patted her tummy through the material.

"Ya know what the best part of that sexy little number is?" Brave Heart asked, "You can take it off." He carefully reached down and helped Harmony undress. Once the nighty was gone, Brave Heart lay next to her and they kissed, Brave Heart pulled her close so her breasts were squished against his chest.


	28. Family Care Arc, part 9

Chapter 28

"Alright everyone just hand in your journals, we'll be going over them over the next two weeks," Noble Heart said. Everyone had gathered in the Hall of Hearts, Even Grateful and Cozy who turned in their fake eggs as well.

"Now before we move on, does anyone want to share their experiences over the last two weeks?" True Heart asked.

"I know why gators bury dere hatches. It stressful keepin dat tiny ting warm an tryin no' ta crush it," Illusion piped up from his spot next to Grateful.

"Other than the sore back and legs I guess this was kinda neat," Cheer spoke up.

"I enjoyed it," Love-a-Lot said. "It brought Valiant and I closer together that's for sure."

"How much closer?" Funshine asked.

"We're engaged!" Love-a-Lot said. She held up her right hand, showing off the teardrop diamond ring that Valiant Heart had bought the previous day.

Cheer shrieked and came over to hug Love-a-Lot. "Like OMG! How could you not have called me?" Snatching the hand with the ring she looked it over and placed her hand over her chest. "Oh Love, it's gorgeous."

"It took a while to find the right one," Valiant admitted.

Love-A-Lot smiled at him, "I wanted the right one."

"So when's the wedding?" Funshine asked. She too was smiling.

"Not until after finals at least, we want to try and pass and finish school before we start planning our lives," Valiant replied.

"Well it seems you all had an interesting time. Now if you're all ready we can move to the second part of our project," True Heart said.

"Please. Just let us drop this weight!" Swift Heart called.

True Heart nodded to Guidance, who stood up and raised her hands, whtie energy orbs glowing on them. A moment later, white light poured out of all the girl's stomachs and they shrunk back down to their natural size.

Swift Heart was grinning from ear to ear, "Finally." Already her feet were twitching to be running down the Forest of Feeling's paths.

"Yes, finally back to my old self!" Cheer literally jumped where she was standing but stopped when she felt the extra weight on her chest. "Well almost."

"That'll wear off in a week or two," Guidance said.

"Hey, we're not complaining," Champs aid, earning him a light smack from Cheer.

"You can discuss that later, but for now we need to move on. Grumpy, Bright Heart, I believe you finished your project for everyone," True Heart said.

"Yeah we did." Grumpy pushed a flatbed trolley around and put boxes in front of the couples. Funshine, Cheer, Confidence, Swift Heart, and Guidance each got two. "Inside are your babies. Bright Heart and I wanted to make them as unique as we could for each couple. Once you open the box and turn them on, there will be no turning them off for two weeks." Grumpy explained.

Bright Heart continued, "Each box also contains a bottle, pacifier, a spare diaper, food containers, and a baby monitor. They aren't real and there won't be any real mess but you need to use them to meet your babies' needs."

Grumpy looked pretty proud of himself, "Well go on. Open them." As they did, Grumpy was pleased to see looks of happiness on his friend's faces.

Lotsa was laughing as he pulled the little elephant out of his and Defiant's box. "Look at this little guy. He looks just like me."

"Not quite Lotsa," Defiant said, reading a card he had pulled out of the box, "It's a girl."

"Oops, I mean _she_ looks just like me," Lotsa correct himself.

"I was expecting some sort of bear," Calm Heart said as Perfect lifted the little Lynx out of the box.

"It doesn't matter, he's still cute," Perfect said.

Swift Heart already had the little bear bot in her arms and was smiling down at it. "Looks like daddy made you just right. Like father like son." The robots arms waved up at her making her laugh.

"As for how this next part will go, just look after your child or children and keep them safe but don't be too overprotective," Noble Heart said.

"Just keeping them healthy and not dropping them will earn a passing grade but there's a trick to getting a perfect score, we won't tell you yet but keep that in mind. According to Bright Heart each child has a chip that will track your performance, which we will use to determine your grade at the end of this," True Heart said.

"And don't worry, their skin will keep them safe from dust or sand clogging any intakes or mechanics," Bright Heart added as he and Gentle opened their own box.

Gentle giggled at the little purple ram inside. "Well wait! Do Grumpy and Bright Heart know the trick? Because if they do that is unfair." Birthday voiced.

"No they don't," Noble Heart shook his head. "We're not programming experts like Bright Heart but I was able to get him to make it simple enough for me to program the settings for it, and I made sure no one else could find out."

Champ was holding both his little girl bots, "So can we go start this whole parenting thing? I gotta make sure these girls can hold a ball," he joked.

"Yes, go ahead and start. Classes will continue as normal this week and Proud Heart and Loyal Heart will help you with child care in their health classes," True Heart said.

"So where are those two?" Love Heart asked, looking around and not seeing the dog ro cat anywhere.

"Babysitting Hugs and Tugs. Grams is busy today so they decided to see how well they could handle three children at once. Now go, shoo," True Heart said, making the motion for them to leave yet smiling all the same.

"Grams is busy? Busy doing what?" Grumpy voiced as he walked with Swift Heart from the Hall. In his arms he carried the little girl rabbit he had made.

Swift Heart shrugged, "Maybe she ran out of Happy Apple Pie ingredients."

"She could just be taking a day off to rest," Guidance Heart suggested.

"Yeah she is like a thousand years old right?" Champ teased.

"Who knows," Anger Heart replied.

Funshine and Playful each had one of the twins in their lap and were sitting on the floor. "Look the little monkey's tail is even prehensile." It was currently wrapped around Funshine's wrist since she was playing with her his arms.

"It's amazing how much they can move." Playful tossed the bear cub up and caught him with his feet. The bot gave a gurgly laugh. Funshine however had almost moved to catch the robot herself. "What's the matter Sunshine? Did you think I was going to drop him?"

Funshine looked embarassed, "I don't what came over me. I know you wouldn't but something just-"

Playful's laughing made her stop. "Hahahah your mommy mode kicked on."

"Whew well that's good. Now I have a chance at doing this properly," Funshine teased back.

"I know you'll be good Sunshine." Playful gave her a kiss right as the child now held in his feet started crying.

"Alright Playful, looks like you are on. Let's see if your Daddy switch has flipped. Figure out what babby wants," Funshine told him.

"Right well..." Playful sniffed, "Doesn't smell like a diaper change so a feeding maybe." He dug around and pulled out the bottle from the box.

"Good guess. And can I just say what a thrill it is not having to breastfeed a robot? That would have been shocking," she joked.

"Well you still could but let's stick with what Bright Heart gave us." Playful laughed at the thought as he stuck the bottle in his baby's mouth.

Swift Heart was dealing with a similar cry from her rabbit baby. As soon as she got the bottle in her mouth though her eyes closed and she started suckling. Grinning she said, "Just like someone else I know. Super cranky when they are hungry." Seeing Grumpy scowl she laughed. "All kidding aside though honey, you and Bright Heart did awesome."

"Thanks, Swift. You know when we started this I was afraid that what we created would fall into the uncanny valley," he said as he bounced the bear baby on his knee.

"The uncanny valley huh? Is that next to Paradise Valley?" She asked smiling innocently.

"No, the uncanny valley is the effect you get when something that isn't human gets so close that all you see are the flaws. Like those ugly computer generated humans you tend to see in movies these days," Grumpy explained.

"Ahah. Well these are no such things. Especially this little beauty here." She gently rocked the little robot. "The person she takes after must be exceptionally good looking."

"Well, yeah she is," Grumpy said.

Getting up she kissed Grumpy. "You flatterer." Placing the baby in one of the makeshift cribs Grumpy had fashioned she said, "I'll be right back," and headed for the bedroom.

Grumpy put a pacifier in the bear baby's mouth and lay it down in the other crib. He watched the two robot kids and smiled, "Too bad it can't always be this easy."

"Aww but where would the fun be in that." Swift Heart came out wearing her favorite pair of jogging shorts and sports bra.

"Going for a run?" Grumpy asked, he looked her up and down, "without a shirt?"

She placed her hands on her once more slim waist. "First time I can see my feet in two weeks, yeah, I'm celebrating no longer being weighed down. What's the matter? You afraid someone else is going to notice too?" Smirking she shifted her weight making one hip pop up.

"Well I certainly notice, that bra's a little snug though," Grumpy pointed out.

Swift Heart glanced down at her chest, "Yeah well like Guidance said, they'll shrink back down to their normal pathetic B-cup in a few days. So I'll enjoy them while I can. And from the look on your face, you will too."

Grumpy laughed, "Heheh, I will if there's time. But go for your run and I'll look after these two."

Moving forward she wrapped her arms around him, "Oh I think for the creator of my robot children I can spare you a few seconds." Standing on tip toe she kissed him quickly. Grumpy kissed back and they separated, leaving Swift Heart to head out for her run.

Closing Grumpy's door behind her she paused briefly to stretch, pulling her legs up behind her. She could hardly contain herself. Stretching her arms from side to side real quick she set off down the trail, slowly gaining speed. The faster she went the wider her grin became.

Partway into her run, Swift Heart head the sound of someone else running. "Hey Swift Heart, wait up!" The voice belonged to Confidence Heart to picked up speed to catch up to her; she was wearing shorts and a yellow tank top, the straps of a sports bra easily visible on her shoulders.

Slowing down she grinned at Confidence, "Hey girl. Enjoying some twinless freedom too I see."

"Yeah. I left Love Heart back with the Twins. He should be able to handle them. No shirt today?" Confidence asked.

She shook her head, "Nope. I felt like resorting to my less conservatively dressed self. I just felt the need to be as unrestrained as possible."

"Not a bad idea." Confidence carefully pulled off her tank top and shoved it into one of her short pockets.

"Welcome to the wild side. Now tell me that doesn't feel better?"

"I'll let you know when we're done," Confidence replied. "So did you decide if you want to give your all to the training yet?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am I have. Would you like me to call you sensei?" She figured Confidence would get what she meant.

"That would be appropriate, disciple," Confidence grinned. "If you want we can start today."

"Maybe. Let me run it by the old man. I don't want to leave him alone with the kids for too long. And I want to use a lot of my alone time chips on running time."

"No problem. Just let me know when and we'll head to the gym, or should I call it the dojo?" Confidence chuckled before resuming her proper breathing.

"Call it whatever. Just as long as I learn to kick butt. Get it?" She nudged Confidence gently.

"Trust me, you will," Confidence assured her.

They ran in silence for a few feet before Swift Heart's curiosity got the better of her, "So what kind of bot tots did Grumpy build for you guys?"

"A sandy bear girl and a green fennec boy," Confidence replied.

"Nice. Yeah he made us a baby girl bunny and boy bear. Both colored a shade between us." She easily leapt over a log in her way.

"How do you think this part of the project will go?" Confidence asked.

"I think easier than the last bit. The guys can actually pitch in more. I think those of us with Twins will have a little more of a challenge, since we don't outnumber our kids."

"Tell me about it." Confidence sighed, "Why couldn't they give Calm, Perfect and Tenderheart twins? There's three of them."

Swift Heart scoffed, "So unfair. Seriously. Playful and Funshine will probably be okay, they have endless amounts of energy."

"Let's hope they'll be out of energy for pranks after this," Confidence said.

"Yeah. Or at the very least the big ones," she agreed.

Wish had the robot baby in the crook of her arm and was giving it the false bottle. "Newborns are supposed to be fed every couple of hours according to that book i read. So we should probably take turns."

"That would make sense." Independent Bear nodded, "I'll trust your judgement on this."

"Hopefully not too seriously. I've never done this before," Wish responded.

"Me neither. So what do you think we have to do to get the best grade on this?" Indy asked.

"Probably whatever will make this as life like as possible. We need to treat this thing as if it were a real baby." She gently bounced the baby. "Do you think we should name it?"

"Maybe. Did you have a name in mind?"

She shook her head, "No. I was just thought of this. Do you?"

"Do we have to give it a real care bear name or can we use a more human name?" Indy asked.

"Oh I'm sure a more human one is fine. Just so we can refer to it as something other then, well, it. On that note, do we have a boy or girl? I forgot to check." Wish asked as she took a look at the box.

Indy fished the card out of the box and gave it a glance, "A boy."

Hearing an empty suckling noise, she saw the bottle was now empty. Shifting the baby to her shoulder she began to pat it on the back, "How about something real easy like Will?"

"That works." Indy set the card back down. "So now that he's been fed what should we do?"

Wish was still patting his back, "He needs to burp and then maybe we can take him for a walk or something."

"Sounds good. Want me to carry him?" Indy offered.

Nodding she gently handed the baby to the bear. "Remember to support his head."

"Like this?" Indy asked, doing his best to hold up "Will's" head as he held him in his arms.

"Yeah that's good. Babies like contact like that." Wish said. Will's electronic face looked content.

Indy sighed and took a careful seat. "Let's hope it doesn't get much more complicated than this," he said.

Wish smiled, "Hope isn't my department. But if you were to wish for an easy time, that I could do."

Indy chuckled, "I don't think we should resort to cheating to get through this but thanks for the gesture."

The twins that Anger Heart and Guidance Heart had been given couldn't seem to stop crying. When they finished feeding and burping one of them it would need its diaper changed, then it got fussy and so on and so on. It took two hours of essentially non-stop parenting before either of them could stop for an instant.

"I think they finally calmed down," Anger Heart dropped on the couch, panting while Guidance remained standing.

"Do you think they got someone to do that just to get back at me for the last two weeks?" Guidance asked.

"How should I know?" Anger Heart grumbled. A moment later he turned back to Guidance, "Sorry I just didn't think I'd be this worn out so quickly."

"Me either, but I'm not sitting down until I'm sure they're both done crying," Guidance said. AS if on cue one of the baby's cries began shrieking through the monitor. "Better go see what she wants," Guidance said, heading to check on the little robot kids. Anger Heart forced himself to stand before joining her.

Gloria had just stepped out of the room for a second to change her clothes. When she came back the sight awaiting her made her giggle. Etienne hadn't moved a muscle from when he had accepted the baby bot from her. In fact, his arms were still extended and he was holding it as far from his body as he could. "Oh for goodness sakes Illy, it's a baby not a bomb."

"Dat mon chere is a matter of opinion," he retorted.

Moving over to him, Grateful Heart gently put her arms on Illusion's elbows. "Just relax. Hold her like she's a baguette with a flaky crust. You don't want to crush it but you don't want to drop it either." He slowly bent his arms until the robot was held against his chest. The baby gator squeaked up at him and swished its tail.

"Dis gonna take some work. I glad you here chere." Grinning Gloria kissed his cheek.

Love Heart and Confidence weren't having it easy, but it only took about an hour before both robot kids were snoring away. Confidence stood over them and watched them sleeping.

"Aren't they cute?" she asked Love Heart, turning to look at her boyfriend.

"When they aren't screaming non-stop yeah," Love Heart agreed. "Do you think we'll have kids someday?"

"Oh probably." Confidence stood up and put and arm around Love Heart, "Not for a while though, too much to do and not enough free time even without kids to look after."

"We'll I'll go get some food for us then, or do you want me to watch the kids?" Love Heart asked.

Confidence released him, "I can watch them, I'll call you if I really need help."

"Alright." Love Heart gave Confidence a kiss, "I'll be nearby if you need help," he added before heading into their kitchen.

Cozy and Jolly had put their platypus offspring in the walker they had found in a thrift store on Earth. As it bounced around, Cozy and Jolly took turns pushing it gently across the floor and making silly faces at it. "Jus think boyo, when yer old enough, yer mum an' OI will teach ya ta swim."

"Jolly, we can't." The walker came into her waiting arms and she turned it gently. "He'sss a robot. If he goessss in that much water I'm pretty sssure he'll ssshort circuit."

"No worries love. We'll make it work." Coming over he lifted the baby out and tossed him in the air. "No son o moine will be a land lubber." Cozy just smiled and shook her head.

The little ram had started crying before Bright Heart and Gentle Heart made it to her house. Bright Heart hastily scrambled to pull the bottle out of the box and fumbled, trying to get it into the robot's mouth.

"Um Bright Heart? You don't have to rush. He isn't going anywhere." Gentle teased him gently. She held the baby as still as possible for Bright Heart.

Bright Heart sighed in relief as he got the bottle to the ram's mouth and it calmed down. "There, that did it."

"Yeah it should keep him quiet for a while I hope." She was amazed at how much noise the little thing could make.

"So how do you feel about all of this, Gentle?" Bright Heart asked.

"I wish I could say I am enthusiastic. But I just, don't really feel totally connected to him." She indicated the ram in her arms.

"I kinda feel linked to him, but I helped build him so it's hard for me not to feel attached to him in some way," Bright Heart said.

Gentle Heart nodded, "Sounds about right to me." Holding the bot out she said, "Here you take him, and I'll carry the stuff."

"OK." Bright Heart took the ram and carefully passed the box to Gentle Heart. "So what should we name him?"

"What would you call him? After all you made him." Gentle used a free hand to adjust the bottle.

"Well maybe Robert?" Bright Heart suggested.

Gentle thought it over briefly before nodding, "I like it." Addressing the robot she asked, "What do you think, little Robert?"

The robot ram seemed to gurgle around its bottle. "I think he likes it." Bright Heart grinned.

Reaching her house, Genlte opened the door for Bright Heart. "I'll make sure the bed we made up is ready for him. He'll probably need a nap soon."

"Probably." Bright Heart nodded. Robert finished his bottle and Bright Heart lifted the ram robot over his shoulder and tried to burp him. "Am I doing this right?" he asked Gentle Heart.

Gentle grabbed the book off the end table and flipped to the tab labeled "Feeding time." Skimming over the passage she nodded, "Mmmhmm. Make sure his chin stays supported on your shoulder.

"Alright." Bright shifted a little and was rewarded by a burp from the ram.

Coming over she giggled, "Looks like you got it."

"Good thing I didn't put goo in these things, cleaning up every time would be gross." Bright Heart made a face at the thought as he lifted Robert away from his shoulder.

The ram reached out with its arms and whacked Bright Heart on the nose. "Oh dear. He's energetic. You okay?"

"I'm fine." Bright Heart held a hand to his nose, "I guess he's not about to go to sleep any time soon."

"Let me see what I can do." She held her hands out for the baby and Bright Heart passed him to her. Rocking him in her arms she began to hum softly to him, just as Noble Heart had done to the cousins once upon a time. Bright Heart watched and it seemed that Gentle's singing was working as the ram began to close its eyes. Robert reached up and touched Gentle's nose briefly.

It surprised her, making her notes falter. However she quickly composed herself and as she sang on, his arm grew tired and fell away from her nose. "There we go," she whispered.

"Your sweet voice could charm anyone to sleep." Bright Heart gave Gentle a kiss.

Blushing she said, "Thanks. All of Harmony's classes have been paying off."

"I can hear that."

"Let's go put him down and get organized while we have the time," she suggested.

"Good idea." Bright Hear took the ram from her and took him to the crib they had set up. He watched the ram sleeping for a moment then turned to Gentle and whispered, "Well let's get ready before he wakes up."

She came over to hug him, "He isn't even a real baby and already I feel overwhelmed."

Bright Heart hugged her back. "We'll get used to it," he reassured her. Moving away from Bright Heart she grabbed her checklist and made sure all the baby stuff was in order while Bright Heart set up the baby monitor close to the crib.

Share was frantically digging through the box on the table, "It's not in here! We didn't get a pacifier!" Items were being tossed left and right from the box in her frenzied search.

Snowy, meanwhile, was carefully rocking the purple fox cub in his arms, trying to get it to stop crying. "Maybe it fell out on the way over here," he called over the cub's cries.

"Or maybe Grumpy and Bright Heart didn't give use one! I mean think how many boxes they had to assemble." As the cries got louder, Share's face became distraught. "I'll check outside!"

"Good idea, I'll keep trying to calm him down," Snowy called as Share headed out the door.

In the quiet outside Share felt her head clearing and her panic melting away. "Snowy is right. We probably just dropped it." She began to retrace her steps.

Meanwhile Snowy was wishing that he had some asprin to take as he tried to calm the robot down. He tried feeding it some of the "food" they had been given and even changing its diaper, but the robot just kept crying.

The door slammed open and a triumphant Share returned with the wayward binky in her hands. "I found it!"

"Great!" Snowy snatched it form her and popped it in the cub's mouth and almost instantly it stopped crying.

Share's shoulders relaxed in relief, "Oh thank the wishing star. I thought my head was going to explode."

"You and me both," Snowy agreed as he lay the cub down for a nap. "It's safe to say I won't be wanting kids for a long time."

"Oh believe me. I share that sentiment. I'm just not ready to be tied down like that yet."

Snowy nodded. "So should we get some supper then?" he asked.

"Yes please! That sounds amazing! I haven't eaten anything since this morning," Share responded enthusiastically.

"Alright, so what are you in the mood for?" Snowy asked.

Share thought about it. "You know, I could actually go for an omelette," she said as she fell back on the couch and kept a close eye on the baby bot.

"Sounds good. Just give me a few minutes," Snowy said, heading for the kitchen.

"_May you grow in your own sweet way_

_And blossom more every day_

_And follow, the music in your soul_

_May there be time, for you to grow!"_

Love-a-Lot finished her serenade for the little robot wolverine she and Valiant Heart had been given and she smiled when she saw that her song had helped it fall asleep then she quickly turned, checked the baby monitor, and quietly exited the room she's set aside for a nursery.

"Isn't that the same lullaby that True Heart used to sing to us when we were cubs?" Valiant asked, keeping his voice low.

Love-a-Lot nodded. "I thought I'd like to try it." She sighed, "Too bad he's not real."

Valiant Heart carefully hugged his fiancé from behind, "You really want to be a mother don't you?"

Love-a-Lot just nodded, "Mmhmm."

Valiant gave her a kiss, "Well if you're not too tired maybe we can start working on that now," he offered.

"Really?" Love-a-Lot asked.

"Why not, we might not have much of a chance to start so we should take what we can get."

Love-a-Lot giggled, "Well if you're so eager." In response she felt Valiant's hands slip under her shirt and rub up over her swollen breasts.

"And I'd like to take advantage of these while I can," he whispered in her ear.

Love-a-lot moved her hands over his through the shirt. "You're such a guy sometimes, Valiant," she teased.

"I can't help it," Valiant replied as he began to guide her to their bedroom.

Love-a-Lot barely had time to undress before Valiant stripped and was on top of her, hugging her close and kissing her hard, his hands moving to her chest as they began. Somehow it felt different than every other time. Their lovemaking carried with it a passion that they didn't even realize had been suppressed and they went at with reserves of energy from an unknown wellspring within themselves.

When they finally collapsed and lay in the afterglow they were both practically drenched in sweat and panting. Love-a-Lot stretched out and took a deep breath before she spoke, "Where did that come from?"

"Dunno," Valiant admitted, "I just felt so alive there because-" Valiant was cut off by the sound of crying through the baby monitor. Valiant chuckled and managed to grab his underwear to pull on as he got up, "Heh, I'm surprised it took this long. I'll go check on him," he said then gave Love-a-Lot a kiss before leaving the room.

Love-a-Lot smiled after him and sighed, rubbing her hand on her tummy. "Hey there," he cooed, "I don't know how I know already but I know you're in there. I wonder what you'll be: boy or girl, bear, wolverine or something in between. I can't wait to meet you." As she contemplated her tummy she heard the crying die down and smiled before moving to the bathroom to get cleaned off.


	29. Family Care Arc, part 10

Chapter 29

"So, are you ready to start your advanced training?" Confidence Heart asked, tightening her black belt around her waist as she stood in the middle of the gym and faced Swift Heart.

She nodded, "Yup! I've been waiting all day for this."

"Good. First show me how high you can jump," Confidence instructed.

"And here I thought you had a challenge for me." Bending her knees she sprang a good six feet into the air.

Confidence whistled, "Impressive, I wasn't' sure if you were built for that kind of high jump. I guess we can skip the frog hops then."

Swift Heart shrugged innocently. "Jumping and running are my two best things. I'm kind of built for it, ya know?"

"Well like you said, being built for one doesn't mean you're good at the other," Confidence replied.

"Aww, I wanted to see her frog hopping," Love Heart called, laughing from where he and Grumpy were sitting with their robot kids.

Scowling at him, Swift Heart presented him with her hind end, "You see this cotton tail? It does not frog hop."

"Just ignore him, it's a good lesson to not let yourself get too distracted," Confidence said. "But as I said earlier it's time for you to put your all into this and as you've probably guessed, you need to learn jump kicks, because you can't always keep your feet on the ground in the middle of a fight."

"Got that right." Turning her back to the boys she said, "Alright Confidence. What's the first step?"

"Balance for jumps and how to land. Even if you miss you have to be able to land in such a way that you don't leave yourself too open for an attack," Confidence explained. "You have to land lightly enough that you don't spend too much time recovering from the hitting the ground, and of course it's best if you land on your feet."

"And not on that cute little cotton tail you're so proud of," Grumpy called.

"If I weren't ignoring you I'd say something unladylike about just what you think of my cottontail," Swift Heart called back. To Confidence however she asked, "So you want me to keep jumping and practice my landings?"

Confidence nodded, "Yes but do it while moving and try to move in a different direction and at different speeds each time. Also you need to make your jumps quicker, speed up the time between the start of your jump and when you actually leave the ground."

Swift Heart nodded and leapt into the air. As she landed she turned to the left as quickly as she could and jumped in that direction. She kept changing it up as she went along, preferring to do the fast jumps over the slow ones. A couple of the kids watching clapped and laughed at Swift Heart as she jumped around.

"Watch where you're going too and always keep an eye on what's around you," Confidence called to Swift Heart.

"Huh?" She had been in the zone and had totally forgotten anyone else was there. As such, she landed on a slippery spot on the floor and crashed to her back.

Confidence moved to help her up, "That's what I mean, if you zone out or stop paying attention in the middle of a fight then a lot worse will happen than falling on your butt."

"No kidding. It's just second nature for me I guess. When I run there is no need for me to pay attention to anything." Gripping the hand Confidence held out to her she let the fennec help her up.

The babies were giggling at Swift Heart's fall and Love Heart stroked the head of the fennec as they watched Swift Heart start her jumps again. "So Grumpy, what do you think about this?" he asked.

"I think if she is going to be falling a lot, then she is going to be pretty frustrated." He was bouncing the bunny bot on his knee while its bear counterpart slept in the stroller. "But I'm glad she's learning a new way to protect herself."

"I know what you mean. I wouldn't handle it well if something happened to Confidence Heart. Though if someone tried to take _her_ captive then I'd probably be more worried for the poor guy who thinks she wouldn't fight back," Love Heart said, trying to imagine such a situation.

Grumpy nodded, "Can't argue with that. Plus I've already lived through that. Swift Heart being captured was one of the worst moments of my life." The baby bunny reached over towards the fennec and made garbly noises. Grumpy moved her closer to the other baby so they could interact. Another thud drew his attention back to the girls and he saw Swift Heart on the ground again. "Don't get frustrated. Just slow it down and pay attention."

"It's just like learning to drive." Confidence helped Swift Heart stand again, "You have to stop thinking too much about what your body is doing and more on what is going to happen when you do it."

"That doesn't make any sense. Wouldn't my body just do what I was telling it to?" She questioned.

"When you drive how much thought do you put into the act of turning the wheel, or pushing the pedals?" Confidence asked.

"Well I guess I don't put that much thought into it. It's sort of become second nature and I just sort of...got it. Point taken." Swift Heart looked slightly embarrassed.

"Everyone trips up their first few times so just keep trying and you'll get it," Confidence reassured her. Nodding she resumed jumping around, doing her best to think ahead.

Harmony was looking over at Brave Heart in absolute shock. It seemed like Brave Heart hadn't put their robot down since they'd brought it home. She hadn't even had a chance to do anything with it but give it its bottle once. "You sure you don't want me to handle the little tyke for a moment?"

"I can't help it Harmony, you know I want to be a dad," Brave Heart tickled the robot under its chin, producing some happy noises.

"Yea I know. And he is totally smitten with you it seems." Getting up she moved over to peer down at the little orange bear. He in turn tilted his head up and grew quiet. "Aww come on man. Don't quit your noise on my account."

"Do you really want to hold him?" Brave Heart asked.

Harmony kissed Brave Heart's mane. "Nah, I'm good. You enjoy him. When you are finally sick of him I'll take him off your hands."

"Might not be for a while," Brave Heart said, laughing.

"Hey technically I had him to myself for 2 weeks. And I hear sharing is good," she replied.

"Does this mean I'll have to look our actual kids for nine months?" Brave Heart asked.

"You got it daddyo." She patted him on the back before moving off to get a drink from the kitchen.

"Ah well, that's probably the least I can do." Brave Heart chuckled. "Harmony, want to the park for a while?" he called after his mate.

Coming back and drinking a diet coke she nodded. "I could go for some fresh air."

"Alright." Brave Heart stood up with their kid in hand and they headed out the door.

Harmony took Brave Heart's free hand as they headed for the park. It was such a pretty day she was sure they'd run into some other couples at the park. "I think the boy bot is cute and all, but when we do this for real, I hope we have a girl."

"I'll love it no matter what it is, but I'll hope for a girl too, for you." Brave Heart gave her a kiss.

"So compliant." Looking at the baby boy she said, "But like I said munchkin. I don't mind you." He finally responded to her and kicked his feet.

"He likes you," Brave Heart said as they arrived at the park to find Love-a-Lot and Valiant there with their kid.

Love-a-Lot smiled at them, "Hey you two. Come out to enjoy the nice day also I see."

"Yup," Brave Heart said as they moved closer.

"We didn't just want to sit inside for the whole assignment, figured we should have some fun," Valiant replied.

"Brave Heart suggested it for us." Harmony sat on the bench and smiled at Brave Heart, "Alright boys. Have fun and stay where I can see you okay?" She said in her best mom voice.

"I don't know how well the can crawl," Valiant said as he sat down in the sandbox. "Bright Heart did say they wouldn't jam up from sand though so they should be fine here."

"Well going off how well his walking refrigerator moved, I'm betting these tykes can go as well. Right sweetie?" Love-a-Lot asked her robot while tickling its cheeks.

"Let's hope they don't go crazy like that fridge then," Brave Heart said.

"Nah it's all good, Grumpy was there to edit him I'm sure. He is the more practical of the two," Harmony told them while sipping her drink.

"That's good. Hey!" Valiant held up his hand to block some sand thrown at him by his kid.

Love-a-Lot gently took hol dof his hands, "No no sweetie. That's not how we play. Throwing sand is not nice."

Harmony shook her head, "Brave Heart maybe take him down to the swing. I don't need you two tracking sand back in the house."

"Alright." Brave Heart lifted the bot baby up and carried him over to the swingset before he set the baby in one of the smaller swings with the leg holes so it couldn't fall out.

"Aw come on Harmony. A little dirt is good for them," Love-a-Lot told her.

"Them yes. My clothes, no," she responded with an easy smile.

"He likes the swing though," Brave Heart said, as he pushed the bear bot on the swings, causing it to shriek with joy.

Love-a-Lot laughed at his joy. "I can see that." She was currently helping her kid put sand in a bucket so they could attempt a sand castle.

"Ugg, man these kids are really taking it out of me," Champ groaned, "and it's ionly been four days, how are we gonna survive the next ten?"

Cheer looked at him bleary eyed from across the table. "Champ, I'm so tired I can barely lift the spoon from this bowl. And I feel like if I think about it I'm going to cry so can we not and just enjoy this brief moment of silence from those terrors in there?" She looked to the closed door of the spare bedroom.

Champ nodded. "Want some coffee?" he asked.

"Yes please." She said while eating some oatmeal.

Champ poured a mug of coffee for each of them. "Cream or sugar?" he asked.

"Yes to all the above." She mumbled. Rubbing her hand against her forehead she left it propped there, keeping her head upright. "I hope to the great wishing star after this I don't have to change a diaper for a long time."

"After this, me either," Champ said as he poured milk and sugar into Cheer's mug and handed it to her, adding a little milk to his to cool it down.

"Thanks baby." Taking the mug she took a little sip from it. "It's so unfair we got twins," she whined with a little sniff.

"Tell me about it," Champ agreed before taking a deep drink from his mug. "I'm sure the other twinners have their hands full too though."

She glared at him, "I doubt it. I bet only we got shrieking banshees with super sensitive ears. Playful and Funshine are probably planning family heists, Guidance and Anger I'm sure have a secret power to handle their twins, same goes for Confidence and Love Heart, and Grumpy freaking made these things. He must know ways to shut them up." Actual frustration tears slid down her cheeks.

Champ set his mug down and moved over to Cheer, giving her a hug, "There there, it'll be alright," he tried to reassure her, even though he wasn't' entirely convinced of his own words.

"I thought we'd be great at this. We are great at everything. But we suck." She cried harder, "I don't like sucking Champ."

"I don't like it either," Champ admitted, rubbing her back in an attempt to calm her down.

Calming down she took several deep breaths. "I'm sorry. I'm just really tired." Taking another sip of coffee she began to feel a little more awake as well. "I'll just keep telling myself, our real kids won't be like this."

"They won't, I promise," Champ said. "And even if they are it won't be for a long time."

Holding his hand she nodded. "Champ, what are we doing? Are we really going to let two little robots beat us? We don't get beaten." Her former confidence was returning.

"That's the spirit. But not too loud, we should get what rest we can while we can," Champ said, smiling at her.

Leaning forward she kissed him, "Let's go to bed."

"Then we powder the tushy, tug up the diaper, and fasten you nice and snuggly." Treat Heart said out loud as she finished changing her baby girl's diaper. The yellow orange tye-dyed bear attempted to roll over. "Oh no no silly goose." Picking her up Treat Heart swung her around. "Let's go find daddy shall we?"

Birthday was in the kitchen going through a recipe book when Treat Heart and their daughter-bot entered. "Everything went alright?" he asked.

"We are daisy fresh and as wriggley as always." Treat Heart told him. She had the bot propped on her hip and she was playing with the long necklace Treat Heart had on.

"Well that's good. At least she's relatively calm." Birthday smiled.

"Yup. Find any good ones?" She asked looking over his shoulder at the book.

"Just some stir fries that sound tasty," Birthday replied.

"Yummm sounds good. What do you think little one?" The baby made a series of noises. "I think she agrees."

"Too bad we can't feed it real food," Birthday lamented.

"That would not end well. I'm pretty sure if we short circuit our baby it counts as a fail," Treat Heart replied with a giggle.

"So what should we do for the rest of the day?" Birthday asked.

"Good question. Do we have enough food for your recipes or do we need to go shopping?" Treat Heart asked.

"Last I checked, I think we should go shopping," Birthday replied, shutting the cook book.

Treat Heart handed the robot over, "Take her for a second while I get my purse and change."

Birthday nodded and took the bot from Treat Heart. He looked down at the girl, "So how do you feel?" he asked.

"Vaaaaannnananan ceeewww laaaa pooooaaaa" She said to him matter-of-factly.

Birthday laughed, "Sure I guess so."

Returning Treat Heart said, "Alright lets go shopping."

"Right." Birthday stood up and followed Treat Heart out of the house.

In the cloudmobile outside, Treat Heart took her time strapping the girl into the carseat in the back seat. "Make sure you drive slow Birthday."

"I will," Birthday reassured her as he started the vehicle.

Once they were airborne Treat Heart dug a bag of M&Ms from her bag and offered them to Birthday, "Want some?"

"No thanks, I gotta make sure I drive properly," he said.

Smirking she poured some into her hand. "Open." She held her hand out, clearly ready to pop them into his mouth.

"Oh alroumph!" Birthday tried to speak only for Treat Heart to stuff them in while he was in mid-sentence.

"No talking with your mouth full, you'll set a bad example for our daughter."

Birthday just sighed inwardly and chewed up the chocolate in his mouth before swallowing.

"How do you think we are doing Birthday? With the assignment I mean," Treat asked.

"I think we're doing alright. I still can't figure out what the secret to getting the best grade is though," Birthday admitted.

"Neither can I." A whimper had Treat Heart turning around. Seeing the toy on the floor she picked it up and handed it back to the baby bear.

"Well at least we're trying," Birthday said.

"And there, I hope he stays asleep longer this time," Perfect said, emerging from the bedroom where the robot child's crib was.

"How can anyone sleep when they get to play cowboy all morning?" Tender Heart asked while looking to Perfect. He had been running the cub around on his shoulders and making horse noises.

"At least it seems to have worn itself out now," Calm Heart said.

"He. And yes he has quite the high energy meter." Perfect agreed with his head on Tender Heart's shoulder now. He was exhausted.

"Well you two can just sit there and I'll make us some lunch then," Calm Heart offered.

"I can help you Calm Heart. You fed the baby this morning after all," Tenderheart offered.

"Thanks for the offer, Tenderheart, but that act didn't require me to physically tire myself out. Just stay there and relax for a bit," Calm Heart insisted before she departed.

"Stay with me for now, Tender," Perfect mock-pleaded.

Smiling at Perfect he put his arm around him, "Sure thing honey."

"Mmm," Perfect sighed before watching Calm Heart go, a smirk on his face. "She's really something else though, Calm Heart I mean," he commented.

Tender heart nodded, "I've enjoyed having her here these past two weeks. I never knew we had so much in common with her."

"Even her build," Perfect said, giggling slightly.

Quirking an eye at the panda he asked, "And you've noticed this how?"

"Oh well, I just liked watching her work." Perfect gave Tenderheart a kiss, "don't think I haven't seen you giving her the once over a few times," he added with a smile on his face.

"I was just checking her over in a totally harmless way. Not like there was much else to do," Tenderheart defended himself.

"Oh don't be defensive, Tender. I trust you," Perfect reassured him.

Tender Heart smiled at him and kissed him. 'I just wish I trusted me.' He told himself.

After they broke the kiss a thought occurred to Perfect. "Why don't we invite her to say?"

"Really? You don't think it' be too crowded?" Tenderheart asked.

"It hasn't really felt crowded these last three weeks, especially since we all share the same bed," Perfect replied.

"Oh I dunno. There were some nights when she was pregnant it felt a little crowded." Tender attempted to joke. "But I know what you mean."

"Yeah well, that won't happen again for a while. It takes longer for a real baby to grow." Perfect smiled.

Tenderheart nodded and patted Perfect on the shoulder. "We'll talk to her when she comes back about her staying for good."

"You know the kitchen isn't that far away, I heard everything you were saying," Calm Heart said as she re-entered the room.

"I thought you were cooking," Tenderheart said.

"I have to wait for the water to boil," Calm Heart replied. "But about your idea, I would actually like to keep living with both of you." She smiled, "it gets lonely at my house and I really like both of you."

"Just like?" Perfect asked, giving a grin.

"Maybe more, but I didn't think you two would be interested at all because you're gay," Calm Heart explained.

Tender Heart smiled at her, "Just because we are gay doesn't mean we can't like girls." He knew he was feeling something for her, but he wasn't quite sure what it was. This was all totally new uncharted territory.

"I think that means you're bi Tender," Perfect said, giving the bear a kiss.

Tenderheart shook his head, "But I've never felt like this about any other girl before. It's just been Calm. And, I dunno, the like I feel for her is not totally sexual." He countered.

"It's not unheard of for people of a certain sexual orientation to have feelings for someone of a sex they don't typically feel attracted to due to personal traits," Calm Heart sugested.

"Or because you have a more guy-like build," Perfect said, smirking.

Calm Heart laughed, "I'll take that a compliment." Her ears perked, "water's boiling," she said before she headed back into the kitchen.

Tenderheart was feeling a familair feeling in his gut. Whenever new things happened he hadn't accounted for, he tended to have anxiety attacks. The panic of having to deal with these unforeseen events made him nervous and antsy. His developing feelings for Calm Heart when he had acknowledged and been happy with the fact he was gay was setting off one of these attacks. "I just remembered I have some papers to look over." Getting up off the couch he hurried to his home office.

Perfect sighed, "Poor Tender." He stood up and followed after Tenderheart, who had shut his office door once he entered. Perfect quietly knocked on the door and asked, "Do you need to be alone?"

"You can come in." As Perfect opened the door he looked at him. Tenderheart was tossing one of his stress balls back and forth in his hands. "I just, um, needed some time to think. And relax. I just don't understand what's happening."

"Oh Tender," Perfect walked over to the bear and squeezed his shoulders comfortingly. "I know it's confusing but it's not a problem. Is there anything I can do to help?" he offered.

"Just let me wrap my head around this, and get used to these new feelings. You know I'm not good with change. And just be honest about how you are feeling," he told his boyfriend.

"Well I think it's good. Maybe not what I expected to happen when we started this project but it's not a bad thing at all," Perfect replied. "I won't mind sharing a house with both of you."

Tenderheart paused with his ball and looked straight at Perfect, "But will you be okay sharing me with her?" He asked him quietly.

Perfect gave Tenderheart a hug, "I'll need to adjust but I promise I won't be mad. You know the saying, the more love you share the more there is to go around."

Hugging Perfect back he replied, "I was just loving what we had. It was so new and exciting. Did you ever think this would happen?"

"No I didn't," Perfect admitted, "but this is new and exciting too. It's an adventure we can have with more people to shoulder the burden and we're all reasonable, we can work out any problems that come up." Nodding he began tossing the ball back and forth again, falling silent once more.

"Lunch is ready, if you two want some." Calm Heart was standing at the door to Tenderheart's office, a look of concern on her face.

"I'll be out shortly. I'm not feeling so hungry at the moment," Tenderheart told Calm, putting a smile on for her.

"I understand. It's only macaroni and cheese. I'll make up a grocery list for later," Calm Heart replied before leaving the office.

"Think she heard us again?" Perfect asked his boyfriend.

"Most likely. We'll have to remember her hearing is better than ours."

"Well it's helped so far, I think she understands how you feel. At least she's not pushy about things anymore." Perfect gave Tenderheart a kiss, "I'm going to have lunch and help her make the shopping list, alright Tender?"

"Alright." He returned Perfect's kiss briefly. As his boyfriend left he sunk back into the office chair, deep in thought.

Snowy slumped down in a chair in the bedroom. "Finally she's asleep," he whispered, worried that he might wake it up.

Plopping down on the bed, Share curled up on her side. "I thought she would never go down. We'll have to learn some new tricks." She sighed.

"Maybe I can find something online," Snowy suggested. "Once I find the urge to stand."

Grabbing a pillow Share sighed and closed her eyes, "Oh no rush. Sit there for as long as you need."

"I'm getting up," Snowy finally relented. As he reached the bedroom door he turned and said, "Let's not have kids for a good long time, we're definitely not ready for this."

Share nodded, "No arguments. And I know it's so out of character for me, but I like having you all to myself." Cracking an eyelid she smirked at him.

"Nothing wrong with being a little selfish now and then," Snowy reassured her. "No one can be 100% generous all the time," he added as he headed to check for stuff on the internet.

Share attempted to get some sleep herself but couldn't seem to. Getting up slowly she wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and went to find Snowy. Seeing him in front of the computer she wrapped her arms around him from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder, "Find anything?"

"A few tips on how to tire kids out faster. Keep them awake and active for longer periods of time so they sleep longer. I'm not quite sure where to look though," Snowy admitted.

"It's a good start. I can ask the others about what works for them too," she told him.

"If we can ever get out to ask them." Snowy looked up at her, "Cant's sleep?" he asked.

"Nope. It's cold back there," She told him with a sigh. "I really should though. All the books and stuff said moms should sleep when the kids sleep."

"Anything I can do to help?" Snowy asked.

Grinning she kissed him, "Come sleep with me?"

"I won't say no to that." Snowy smiled back and shut the computer off.

Share returned to the bed and reclined on it once more, wrapping herself up tight in the blanket. Closing her eyes she waited for Snowy to join her. She didn't have to wait too long as Snowy returned from the family room and lay down next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and snuggled up with her.

"I see what you mean by it being cold in here, but I hope I can help."

Moving her legs to intertwine with her she murmured, "Oh yes. I'm feeling better already."

"Good, then let's hope we cna both get some sleep while we can," Snowy replied, giving her a soft kiss.

"Yup. Definitley no kids for a while." She stated as she snuggled against him.

Friend was sitting with the boy robot she and Secret had been given and was playing with it. She would hand it a block and it would just toss it or slam it on the ground. When it got one to sit on top of another it looked pleased with itself. "Good job kiddo." Secret just shook her head at the bot's antics but smiled nonetheless.

"Ow!" One of the blocks hit Friend on the cheek. Laughing it off she picked up a softer toy, "Let's try this one." Turning to Secret she said, "Want to join us?" Secret thought for a moment then shrugged and took a seat with them, whispering in Friend's ear.

Friend nodded, "Yeah he is. He likes messing with things I think. I could hardly keep him away from the toys when we got home." Secret tilted her head sideways and placed her hands under it, making a motion as if she were asleep.

"You think we should put him to bed? It might be hard. He's not tired," she said. Secret silently sighed and nodded before picking up another toy to offer to the robot baby.

He took the toy and looked at it before tossing it back at Secret. Friend giggled. "Between the two of us we should be able to tire him out."

Secret actually vocalized "Ow" when the toy struck her and she rubbed her head where it hit her.

Giggling Friend leaned over and rubbed the spot gently, "Just think what a good baseball player he would be if he were a real boy." Secret giggled back and nodded, handing a softer toy to the robot, only for it to hit her in the head again only less painfully.

"No no sweetie. At our hands." Friend demonstrated by tossing something gently to Secret. Secret caught it then passed it to the bot, making the tossing gesture for it to see.

This time it tossed it gently to Friend and she laughed out loud, "You did it!" Secret clapped her hands and smiled, before giving Friend a little kiss on the cheek.

They played with their robot child for another two hours before he finally began to yawn and rub his eyes. Friend picked him up to place him in the crib, but his arms wrapped around her neck and he fell asleep. "Maybe I'll just let him sleep here." Sitting on the sofa she held onto the bot. Secret sat next to Friend and whispered in her ear.

"Yeah he is." She whispered back. Secret yawned and lay her head on Friend's shoulder.

Friend gently kissed her girlfriend before resting her head on Secrets. "Just two weeks."

Defiant watched Lotsa playing with the elephant baby, tickling it's feet. "You really like her, don't you?" Defiant asked.

"Of course I do. She looks just like me." Grabbing the feet he tickled her belly with his trunk making it squeal.

Defiant laughed, "Well you do have a way with kids, Lotsa, but I'll be looking forwards to when it's just us again after this."

"Not feeling the fatherhood thing?" Lotsa asked while continuing to play with the baby.

"Well... it's more that we haven't had a lot of time to be just us, because of my breakdown after that... thing," Defiant replied.

Handing her a stuffed animal, Lotsa slowly got to his feet and moved to hug Defiant. "When this is all over, we can make some time for us."

Defiant hugged him back, "Thanks Lotsa. I appreciate that."

"I'm sure we could make a small vacation happen, once finals are over. Summer is so close." Lotsa continued to muse.

"I'll help you study for finals if you want, so you don't have to do another year at school," Defiant offered.

He grinned, "That would be awesome. And that's the truth."

Defiant laughed, "Yeah it is, and so is this." Defiant gave Lotsa a kiss.

"Yup that's the truth too." Holding Defiant's head gently he kissed him back.

The baby elephant started crying and Defiant reluctantly separated from Lotsa to check on it, "but I guess we'll have to save that for later." Defiant sighed as he picked up the elephant and started rocking it in his arms.

"It's not so bad. You'll see. Kids can be fun." Lotsa told him while bending to pick up the abandoned stuffed animal.

"Yeah I guess so," Defiant admitted. Sticking up her tiny trunk she attempted to trumpet. It came out as a stressed squeak. Lotsa laughed as did Defiant, "well she's trying."

"And that's all I ask. With practice you'll be able to do this." Taking a deep breath in Lotsa gave a loud trumpet.

Defiant watched the bot react. "She liked that," he commented.

"Of course she did. She's an elephant after all." Lotsa tickled her with his trunk once more.


	30. Finals Arc, Part 1

Chapter 30

"Alright everyone, while Grumpy and Bright Heart retrieve your grades why don't you tell us how the last two weeks looking after your 'children' went?" Noble Heart asked. Once again everyone had gathered in the Hall of Hearts after they turned in their robot kids to Bright Heart and Grumpy.

Cheer and Champ had all but tossed their twins to the two. "It was exhausting. I never knew I could be that tired." Cheer squalled.

"Definately, when that alarm that said they were shut down went off we almost cried," Champ agreed.

"Ah think Ah'm gonna miss him, even if he wasn't real," Brave Heart said.

"Oh yeah, he's definitely gonna miss that little bag of fun." Harmony verified.

"He isn't alone." Lotsa agreed, watching as the little elephant left the room.

"Definitely not alone," Valiant added.

"In fact we can hardly wait to have a kid for real now," Love-a-Lot chipped in.

"That makes me really glad my burrow is underground so I won't have to hear anymore midnight crying for a while," Swift Heart commented.

"Aww come on Swifty, that just means you get to get up for a midnight snack," Playful told her with a smile.

"Well I'm happy that we can have some normalcy return for a while," Funshine said. "Even if we did have fun."

"It was definitley an eye opener. And it made us think about kids and our futures more seriously." Tender Heart commented.

Turning to Proud Heart and Guidance he said, "This was a good idea ladies."

"Well thank you," Proud Heart said. "But I feel I must warn you that things will be much more difficult when it happens for real, not the least of which because it'll be for years, not just two weeks. But it's very rewarding." Proud Heart rocked her son in her arms as she spoke.

"'Tis true, and it's an experience I would never give up." Loyal Heart gave Proud Heart a kiss.

Swift Heart shifted to whisper in Cozy's ear, "Do you ever get the feeling Proud Heart thinks we are dumber then we actually are? I mean she is always carrying on like none of us understands how babies work."

Cozy just shrugged, "Assside from True Heart ssshe isss the only expert, and you know how much of a type A ssshe isss." Swift Heart nodded and faced forwards again.

"How long it gonna take before we fin' out if we totally blew dis project?" Etienne asked.

"Just a couple more minutes. Bright Heart just has to pull the memory chips out and get the grades from his computer," Noble Heart replied.

"I really hope I did okay on this." Treat Heart was twiddling her thumbs. "I just want to pass."

"I'm sure we did fine," Birthday reassured her.

"We got them!" Bright Heart announced as he jogged up to teh stage. He passed True Heart the sheet with the grades on it.

"Thank you Bright Heart, now let's take a look..." True Heart scanned through the seat while Bright Heart went to sit with Gentle Heart.

Gentle smiled at him, "Did you happen to get a look at any of the grades?" She bleated.

"A couple but True Heart's going to tell us anyway so jsut wait," Bright Heart patted her hand.

"Well it looks like most of you did acceptable jobs as parents. No one failed but most of you only just got a barely passing grade," True Heart said.

"Woohoo! But no one failed!" Cheer and Champ high fived each other.

"Yes it's good taht no one failed, but there's only a few of you that are ideal parent material," True Heart replied, fixing Cheer and Champ with a stern glare.

"So what was trh secret to getting a good grade?" Grateful asked from the audience.

"Well, to pass you had to look after your child and attend to its needs, but to get a high grade you have to let the child have fun and see variety in the world, let them watch interesting or entertaining sights that have a positive impact on their lives." Noble Heart peered over True Heart's shoulder at the grades, "It seems that out of all the couples here, Valiant, Love-a-Lot, Brave Heart and Harmony were the best, in fact they all got a perfect score on the test. Playful, Funshine, Love Heart, Confidence, Swift Heart and Grumpy came close with a range of 87-93%"

Looking very proud of himself Grumpy crossed his arms and looked at Swift Heart. "See? I told you it was a good idea to let them watch you train and me use the blow torch."

Swift Heart smirked and gave him a quick kiss, "Yes oh father figure. I will never question you again."

Funshine looked surprised, "Seriously Swifty?"

"No are you kidding?" She responded with a scoff and a wink. Catching Confidence's eye she smiled, "Look at that, my training is paying off already."

Confidence laughed, "Well if you can't master the art then I'm sure you can get a job as a kid's entertainer," she joked.

"Also just a reminder to everyone who's in school classes this year: these grades will count towards your final grade and help in determining whether or not you pass," True Heart called out.

"Sweet!" Playful was hoping it would help out some of his lower grades.

"But we still have exams, right?" Treat Heart double-checked.

"Yes, in fact the final exams will be at the end of this month, so start studying because if you fail them you will be back in school next year," Noble Heart replied.

Groans were heard from a few of the others. "But we just finished a big project." whined Cheer. "Don't we get even a little break?"

Noble Heart shook his head, "Sorry but no. Unless you want to spend another month or two in classes to catch up."

"However once you finish your current homework for your current classes your regular classes will be over and you will have the remainder of the next three weeks for studying before the exams," True Heart said. "We wish you all the best of luck and hope to see good performances out of all of you."

It was clearly a dismissal and the group began to disband. Some to go home and finish work, others to enjoy not having to be fake parents anymore.

Valiant stuck with Love-a-Lot. "So let's hit the books shall we?" he asked, taking her hand.

She nodded, "I want this school thing to be over and done with. We have much more important things to be focusing on."

"Like our wedding," Valiant said, giving her a kiss.

Kissing him back briefly she added, "I can't wait to go dress shopping. I know exactly what I want. But you won't know till you see me walking down the aisle."

"I know the rules Love," Valiant replied. "But first thing after exams we are going to see Take Care to see if you're carrying anything for us," he added, patting her tummy.

Love-a-Lot laughed and removed his hand from her stomach, "Oh Valiant I doubt it. You know these things hardly ever take on the first time. Besides, I haven't felt any different lately.

"Well if studying stresses us out we can always blow off some steam before we go to sleep," Valiant suggested, giving her a kiss.

Giggling she nodded, "I think I will be very stressed out then."

Terra stood up for a moment to wipe the sweat from her brow. "I didn't think moles could sweat at all, let alone this much," she commented aloud.

"Everything sweats here love." Trez told her as he mopped his own brow with a bandana. They were only a few miles above the equator and their dig site offered little to no shade.

"I'll be happy the sun doesn't bother my eyes then," Terra giggled as she bent back down to check the ground at her area. She stuck a digging claw far into the ground. "There's something about five meters below me, not sure what though."

Trez moved closer, "Well then lets dig 'er up noice an slow. First to Oidentifoi it gets bought tha first roun' tonight." He lowered his digging spikes into the ground and began hauling dirt.

Terra gave a mock scowl, "No fair, you know I can't identify most of the things we find." She just rolled her sightless eyes and began digging alongside the echidna.

Trez chuckled, "OI know love." He returned his focus to the earth, still not sure what lay below.

Terra dug furiously for a while until she felt that they were getting closer. "Not much farther," she said, slowing her pace so as not to damage anything.

Seeing a stone corner or something of the like poke through the dirt, Trez reached over and gripped Terra's wrist gently, stopping her digging. "We got it. Easy on." Reaching into a pocket Trez pulled out a small brush. As he gently moved the dirt away with his hand he began to gently brush off the parts of the artifact that became visible.

"So what is it?" Terra asked, sitting back and enjoing her moment to rest.

"Looks loike a tablet," he told her. And the more unearthed it became the more the image on the front became visible.

"Do you recognize the symbols on it?" she asked.

Trez shook his head. "Looks loike some liza'd men bowing to a shoining crystal."

"Lizard men?" Terra shook her head. "I guess you should get a better look at it in the tent. I could use a break."

"Ta sheila." With a little grunt he removed the mid-sized tablet from the ground and headed for his work bench followed by the mole, who reached for her water bottle as soon as she sat down.

Trez spent the next hour going over the artifact in silence. He usually was quiet when he had a new excavation. As he looked over the hieroglyphs he attempted to decipher what era they were from, since their origin was not one he was familiar with. By this time Terra had nodded off from the heat, knowing better than to disturb Treasure Hunt while he was working and having nothing to offer with her sightless eyes.

When Trez had finally worked some things out, he was starving. Instead of waking Terra he got started on dinner, knowing the smell would get her up. Lighting the fire he began retrieved some ground beef from their cooler and started chopping it up.

When Trez finally starting cooking Terra was almost instantly came awake. "Time for dinner?" she asked, as she sat forwards and stretched a bit.

Nodding he passed her the salad he had made up. "Finished decipherin tha tablet too."

"Great." Terra sniffed the plate to get an idea of what was in it before she began eating. After her first mouthful she asked: "So what does it mean?"

"Front picture shows an ancient race prayin to their deity, a crystal that gave them powa." Producing a piece of paper from his vest pocket he looked it over as he explained to Terra. "On tha back was a map to tha land it is from."

"The land? You mean another set of ruins?" she asked.

Treasure Hunt shook his head, "No. OI mean the land. It's not from here. That's woi it took me more than a tick of tha clock ta place it."

"Reminds me of Pegasus Falls," Terra mused as she finished off her salad. "I gotta say this is much better than eating earthworms," she commented.

"Than where?" Trez asked confused at first. But then he remembered Terra had mentioned the place once before in one of their few conversations about her Care-a-Lot days. "Nevamoind." Smelling the food on the fire he decided it was done. Spooning out the rice and beef mixture he handed the plate to Terra.

"Much better," she said as she took a mouthful of beef and rice. "But yeah, you could only get to Pegasus Falls through a portal. It's in another reality or another plane of existence or something Bright Heart once explained to me that I couldn't quite understand."

"Yer oll ready outsoide moi realm of expertise. From tha looks of tha map, we are lookin fer a portal as well." He said before taking a bite of his food.

"Interested in finding it?" Terra asked.

"Moit as well. OI haven' discovad a new culture in awhoile," he teased with just a hint of cockiness.

"Is it nearby?" Terra asked.

"Bout three days away OI reckon. We can take a train though an cut that shorta," he told her.

"Sounds good. I'll give the site another sweep after dinner to see if there's anything else here." Terra dug back into her meal.

"Souns' aces." Trez helped himself to more of the rice mixture.

Terra finished rather quicky then stood up. Before she headed down to the site she asked, "Think we'll ever run into those three, Pitch Heart, Frigid Heart and Torrid Heart again?"

Trez laughed, "You still thinkin bout those yahoos? OI doubt it sheila, They seemed pretty into their business."

"It's not something I can forget easily," she commented as she left the tent to search the site once again. Shaking his head Trez resumed eating his dinner. However thanks to Terra he was now remembering his encounter with the odd trio.

About half an hour later Terra called up to Treasure Hunt, "Trez get down here! I found something!"

It took him barely a minute to slide down into the hole next to Terra. Landing in a crouch he said, "Noice. Move yer hands an OI'll see wha it is."

Terra held up something, "It feels like a curved knife of some kind, but the handle's missing. Might have decayed."

Grasping the object Trez brought it up so he could get a good look at it. What he found made his eyes widen, "Bugger, that is one large tooth."

"A tooth, but that's too big to be a tooth at least of any animal I know would have lived here. Unless this land used to be under the ocean," Terra said.

"Agreed. Maybe it too is from this otha place." Trez offered. "Dunno if that oidea makes me wanna go more er less."

"Well I found something else, nor sure what they are. They feel like rocks but they're not," Terra scooped up a couple of the objects in her claws and held them up for Trez to see.

Those really interested him. "Wha 'ave we 'ere?" Taking a crystal he looked it over. A small light flickered from inside it, growing in intensity before pulsing and growing dark, only to repeat the cycle again. "Nifty lil' buggahs."

"What is it and what did it do?" Terra asked a bit irate that Trez seemed to have forgotten she couldn't see.

"Its tha crystal from tha tablet. The thing those lizard men were prayin to. Its glowin." Trez wasn't quite sure what the glowing meant. But he bet the answers lay at the end of the map.

"Well maybe this place used to belong to that other world and it got sent here by mistake, or maybe some of those lizard men got stuck here ages ago." Terra paused for a moment then asked, "Is the tooth fossilized or fresh?"

Looking the tooth over, Trez was surprised at his findings. "Fresh."

"OK now I really want to go to this strange place." Terra carefully scooped up the rest of the crystals she had found and carefully carried them back up to their tent.

"Ta sheila. OI'm with ya. Head out at first loight?" He put the tooth in a pocket and followed Terra.

"Sounds good." Terra nodded as she carefully spread the crystals out on the table. "So what do you think these crystals do?"

About to respond that he had no idea he was interrupted as his laptop turned on. "OI thought it was dead?" Moving over to it he began checking it over.

"Maybe the crystals did it," Terra suggested. To test her hypothesis she carefully pushed the crystals away from where the supposedly dead laptop lay.

Sure enough the screen once more went dead. "Bonza! OI bet they are a power source of some kind." Grinning he exclaimed, "That's why those lizards were prayin to it."

"Well at least we know what to do next time your laptop dies," Terra joked, pushing the crystals back which caused the laptop to flare to life again. "Or maybe they can recharge the batteries."

He pointed to the icon in the bottom right corner. "Looks loike it." Pulling up a browser he began looking for train times that would help them get to their intended destination.

"Well a portable battery charger is nice. Maybe I can get an MP3 player in town before we go," Terra said.

"Don see woi not. I live fer moine. Makes sure people don' troi ta talk ta me on these trips." Trez wrote down the times he found. "Our train leaves at 10."

"Sounds good. Could you help me find some music I like?" Terra asked. He nodded but didn't say anything. He was scribbling away at a piece of paper, no doubt making a list of all the supplies they needed for their trip. Terra heard the scratching of his pencil and just kept silent, knowing how Trez got when focused on something like this.

The following morning Trez made sure their first stop was the local electronics store to get Terra an MP3 player. As they were leaving the store he watched her put her headphones in. It was made for the visually impaired, meaning all the commands and options were read aloud so she'd know what she was selecting. "Happy Sheila?"

"Yes, this is pretty neat, all the directions coming in, and the buttons are easy to use. Do we have time to get some songs off your computer on the train or before we go?" she asked.

Chuckling he replied, "Our train roide is 28 hours at least. OI'd say we got toime."

"Great. I need to find some music I like. What kind of cabin did we get?" she asked.

"First class. Jus us with a bed an proivate bathroom. OI don loike ta be gawked at if OI can help it. Plus, OI'm ratha succesful at moi job."

"I've noticed. Good thing I can't see, I can't gawk," Terra joked.

"OI dunno sheila, OI hear OI'm pretty dappah lookin." Trez teased her.

Terra laughed, "I'll take your word for it Trez. Let's get to the train, I want to get settled in before it pulls out of the station. Everything's a blurr until we're up to speed." Trez escorted her to the train station.

Once aboard he made sure there was nothing in Terra's way so she could move about the cabin freely. Claiming the bed by the window he stowed their bags and locked the cabin door. "All set?"

"For now," Terra moved to her bed. "Do we have time to listen to some music before the train leaves?"

"Yea." Opening up his laptop he pulled up the song library. "Anythin in particula yer lookin fer?"

"Nothing to loud, fast or 'extreme'," she made air quotes when she said the last word, "and something where I can actually understand the words," Terra replied.

Looking through his playlists, Trez found one that had some of his favorite country songs. "Give this a go." He hit play and the music filled the cabin.

Terra listened for a minute then smiled, "I like this. What else do you have?"

"Classic rock, new age stuff, Surfer-tunes, an a few rap selections." Trez told her. He put all of his music on shuffle for Terra to hear. First up was a classic Beach Boys song. Flopping back on his bed, Trez folded his hands under his head and stared at the ceiling just enjoying the music.

Shortly thereafter the train betgan to move. Terra lay back on her bed and did her best to just listen to the music as the shaking of the train disrupted her sense of touch.

"You eva been on a train before Terra?" Trez called to his companion.

"How extra bloind are ya roit now Terra?" Trez had never bothered to ask before since most of their train rides weren't as long as this one.

"It's hard to describe to someone who doesn't rely on touch but the best way to describe it is that it's like your vision is very blurry and shaking all the time," Terra replied.

"It evah make you sick? OI get sick when OI fly." He shared.

"No just dizzy, but I do get sick when I fly too. I just need to be in contact with the ground, even indirectly."

Trez nodded, "Me too." A more upbeat song came on and he started singing along to it, "_She likes whiskey with her water, she starts dancing when the stars come out_."

"I think I like this country music," Terra said as she tapped her digging claws together witht he beat.

"Its moi favorite genre." Trez told her. "Noice ta listen to aftah a long hard dig."

A few more songs played before the train pulled out of the station and got up to cruising speed and Terra finally decided to stand up. "Still blurry but I can make out everything in the room at least. I think I know which songs I want to put on my player."

Trez didn't move from his bed. "Need moi help then doin it eh?"

"Yes I do," Terra said.

Grunting he sat up and left the bed to retrieve his laptop. "Oll roit love. Foire away." As he spoke Trez plugged her MP3 player in.

It was late afternoon the next day when the train finally came to a stop. Terra had elected to sleep late that day, a luxury she could rarely afford anymore but the shuddering of the train slowing down woke her up. "I guess we're there," She said, trying to extricate herself from the covers.

Coming over Trez held one end so she could crawl out the other. "Yup." He was already dressed and ready to disembark. "Grabbed you some breaky from tha dining car. You can eat it on tha go."

"Thanks Trez," Terra nodded and smiled appreciatively. As she managed to pull herself up, she ahd slept in her clothes just in case she got up this late. "Got any coffee?"

"No sheila, 'ow long 'ave you been travelin with me?" He faked insult as he placed a travel mug in her hand. Taking a sip from his own he sighed happily.

Terra laughed before taking a drink from her mug. "Alright let's get off this shaky machine."

As they left the train and its station Trez looked around the town they were in. He needed the road that led west out of the town. It should be easy enough to find, he just had to head in the same direction the sun was moving. "OI think it's this way." He informed Terra.

Terra nodded, "Alright, let's see if the portal's there then. How long is the walk from here?"

"Accordin to tha map, three hours er so." Trez informed her. "Course it depends on how fast we move."

"I think we can make it in three," Terra replied as they started on the trail.

Sure enough two and a half hours later Trez was having them stop as he consulted his map once more. This was supposed to be the location of the portal, but nothing looked right. None of the landmarks were matching up.

Terra knelt down and felt the ground with her diggin claws. "Hmm..." she hummed.

"What is it shiela?" Trez asked, looking up from his map.

"There's a hole beneath us, no not a hole more like a big sealed air pocket in the ground, and-" Terra was cut off as the ground started to shake.

"Croikey! This isn't a place we wanna be!" Trez grabbed for Terra's hand and attempted to pull her to a more stable location. Before he could however he felt the earth disappear under his boots and he and Terra went falling into the fissure.

Terra braced herself for impact or the closing of earth, ready to start hollowing out a place for them if they got stuck but instead felt a sudden jolt approaching and washing over them followed shortly by a somewhat painful *thud* as they hit softer ground.

It took a moment for Terra to stand but she felt the ground. "This isn't where we were, what happened?" she asked.

Trez lifted his face from the ground, spitting the gritty dirt from his mouth. Looking around he saw they were on a ledge, overlooking a forest, "OI'd say we found tha place OI couldn' foind before."

"The land with the lizard people?" Terra asked. She took a deep sniff of the air, "There's a lot more vegetation and something odd. No animals nearby though."

"Somethin odd eh?" Trez's nose wasn't nearly as good as hers so he wasn't sure what Terra was smelling.

"It might be the plants. Do they look odd to you?" she asked.

"Oh yeah." He was looking at a fern the size of a ferrari. "Odd is a good word."

"Let's try to find a good place to set up camp then, no telling how long we'll be stuck here," Terra suggested.

Trez began to look around, "High ground would be best. An we should keep our backs against a wall. Less surproises that way."

"Well I'll follow your lead, I'll make sure wherever we go is more stable this time though," Terra assured him, taking his hand so he could lead her.

Trez gave it a squeeze and began to lead the way further into the mountains they had landed on. From what he knew of big predators, they tended to hunt in places with more cover. So the openness of the mountains and the presence of earth would hopefully ensure their safety.

Terra let herself be guided along. She could feel things for a fair distance so she concentrated on 'feeling' for any approaching steps, just in case something was coming at them. Thankfully she felt no tremors from the earth at the moment so they were safe.

Two large cliffs came together to form a hollowed out cavern. It was open on the sides but was covered by a large overhang that would keep out any nasty weather. "OI found it. Lemme give it a once over." Trez released her hand and moved to check the cavette.

Terra moved closer as well, placing her hands on the rock. "It feels stable, not cracks or soft parts," she gave her assessment.

"Ground?" Trez was scooping some into his hands to check it over, but for the most part it did indeed seem stable.

"It's stable too, but I want to be sure this won't collapse any time soon," Terra said.

"How you wanna do that?" He questioned her. A screech from behind him had Trez running to the opening of the overhang. A pteradactyl swooped by, going to join its flock. "Bloime."

"What was that?!" Terra ducked as she heard the screech overhead, shuddering in terror.

"Jus an ovah grown chicken sheila. Hardly bigga then a small plane." Trez responded cheerily. He was in awe as he watched the pterodactyls fly.

"I don't like birds, except penguins because they don't fly," Terra admitted.

"Hate tah burst yer bubble sheila. But OI think there may be a lil' more than penguins round these parts." Trez informed her.

"I heard. But as for the cliff I just felt it the same way I feel for artifacts underground," Terra said, still low to the ground.

Opening his pack, Trez got out his bedroll and set it up against the back wall of the cave. "Think you can make us a foire pit?"

"I can manage that," Terra said, finally standing. "Just give me a few minutes," she added as she went to work.

Trez contented himself with unpacking and wandering just outside of the shelter. He found a fresh water stream nearby as well as a few plants that had fruit that looked edible. Once they were settled he would talk to Terra bout how they would work looking for the crystals.

It didn't take long for Terra to dig a fair sized pit and encircle it with rocks. She stood back and felt around, "Seems good. Any good wood around here?" she asked Trez.

"Plenty. OI had ta venture down a ways though." Trez deposited the wood next to the pit.

"Thanks Trez. Hmm?" Terra turned shuffling her feet slightly. "Thought I felt something rumbling, but it was probably a far off earthquake," she said before bending down to pile the wood into the pit.

Instantly Trez's hand wandered to the knife he kept on his belt. "One thing OI learned in all moi years of digging in hostile territory, you nevah accept the wishful thought." Eyes searching, Trez looked out once more from the mouth of their shelter.

"It stopped, I'll let you know if it starts again," Terra reassured him.

Unconvinced, Trez remained at the entrance. "Wanna loit that foire? Or wait till it gets a bit cooler?"

"I'll light it," Terra carefully fished for the long lighter and carefully clicked it. "Let me know when it takes," she said, holding the flame against one of the branches.

It didn't take long, the wood was very dry. "Yer good." Soon the smell of burning tinder filled their habitat. Slowly Trez returned to the shelter and joined Terra next to the pit.

"I hope this keeps whatever's out there away. I don't want to run into whatever that tooth came from," Terra commented.

"You an me both sheila." Trez kept his knife handy, often looking up to check their surroundings.

"So what's the plan from here on?" Terra asked. "I don't think anyone will believe us about this place when we get back."

"Who you plannin on tellin?" Trez asked.

"No one really, I might mention it to the rest of the Care Bear Family and Fauna. They might be interested in this place, assuming there's a way they can find it," Terra replied.

"Fauna is tha sheila that is a pegasus roit?" He double checked. "OI' imagine she would from wha' you've said. An as far as tha plan goes, OI assume we'l jus travel as far as we can each day ta foind tha crystals. OI don' fancy bein out at dark."

"Sound go..." Terra trailed off. "Something's coming this way, I can feel it," she said, feeling the ground starting to shake.

"OI knew it was only a mattah of toime. Hopefully it's too big ta fit in here." Whatever it was soon came close enough that Trez could feel the impact tremors. His heart was hammering in anticipation of what was heading for them. All too soon a large grey head crested the mountain pass rise. Its mouth was agape and filled with sharp teeth. The powerful jaws gave way to a short neck, barreled chest and long thick body ending in a pointed tail. While the hind legs were thick an muscular, the front arms were weak little things. Trez gulped, "Oh bugger."

"It's big but what is it?" Terra asked, clinging to Treasure Hunt in terror.

"Umm, well, koinda hard ta descroibe. You eva hear wha' a t-rex looks like?" Trez whispered.

"I don't know what that is," Terra admitted, still clinging to him. "What should we do?"

"Hold still, an keep quiet. OI heard somewhere they hunted boi movement. An picture a three story tall lizard with dagger sharp teeth that could snap a car in half."

"Got it," Terra said. "Should I dig us out of here?"

Trez shook his head, the t-rex was almost on top of them. He was swinging his head from side to side, nostrils flaring. The smell of the fire must have attracted him, Trez realized. Growling it paused just outside the shelter. The beasts damaged right eye was facing them leading Trez to believe for the moment they were safe.

Scarface had felt the two come through the portal and start wandering through his home. As he had searched them out they had also done the thing with the crackling lights that made wood smell funny and sting his nose. However he couldn't seem to pinpoint their exact location. "I know you are here. Come out so I can see what exactly you are. You don't smell human but you are sure acting like them," he growled out.

Terra began edging back away from the growls and roars she heard coming from the creature.

Trez put his arm around Terra holding her still, "Easy on sheila. Just stay quoiet." He whispered. Sensing no movement Scarface roared loudly at the rock overhang. It took all of Trez's will power not to run. Poor Terra clapped her hands tightly over her ears and whimpered. When his quarry still had not emerged, Scarface growled again in frustration and began stomping off, "Maybe they are elsewhere."

Terra could feel him stomping away. "Now what should we do?" she whispered.

"Start boi breathin." He said with a little nervous chuckle. "Bloime eh that bloke is a terrifyin soit."

Terra took a deep breath before she spoke again. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep properly tonight."

Trez nodded, "Yer ears alroit? That roar even hurt me."

"I'll be fine," Terra assured him, shaking her head to clear some of the ringing. "Maybe I should dig a burrow or something so he can't smell us."

"Sounds aces ta me. We'll 'ave ta be careful roun him when we're lookin for the crystals," Trez added.

Terra nodded and set to work, digging into the ground eventually forming a small tunnel a few feet below the surface where they dragged the rest of their provisions. "Maybe we shouldn't light fires if we can help it, I don't think that thing would be scared off by them. It's probably big enough to just stamp them out."

Trez nodded, "Yeah he could. But OI noticed his one eye was a bit wonky so maybe of we evah need ta escape him we have an advantage."

Terra thought for a moment. "Maybe, but he might not hunt by sight. I wonder if what they say about the kingdom of the blind is true."

"You'll have ta fill me in on that one Terra." He had no idea what she meant by that.

"It's a saying, 'in the kingdom of the blind the one-eyed man is king'," Terra clarified.

Trez rubbed his chin as he considered her statement over, "OI've always heard tha T-rex was king of tha dinosaures so you may not be that far off."

"Let's hope he's not too persistent then," Terra said, trying her best to lie down and sleep, not bothering with her sleeping bag.

"Hope springs eternal. Noit sheila." He was not planning on sleeping anytime soon after that.


	31. Finals Arc, Part 2

Chapter 31

"So with final exams at the end of the month we need to keep everyone on task," Tenderheart said. He, Brave Heart and Love Heart were seated around their meeting table in the hall of hearts one again. "We'll just have to hope there are no major Caring emergencies for a while."

"We can always take care of anything that comes up," Love Heart chipped in.

Brave Heart nodded, "Yeah we can. There ain't nothing we can't handle. As for keeping the others on task, should we advise them to do group study sessions?"

"That might work," Tenderheart said, "I think we need to show them how to study properly."

"Study properly?" Brave Heart questioned. "Don't you just commit facts to memory?"

Tenderheart shook his head, "Not everyone learns the same way."

"I know Anger Heart needs help. I took a look at his work when we travelled together." Love Heart shook his head, "He's not too bright I'm sad to say."

"He just ain't tryin. I don't think we've found the right motivation fer him." Brave Heart countered.

"Any suggestions Love Heart?" Tenderheart asked.

"Honestly, I got nothin'," Love Heart replied, sighing. "My closest idea is his motivation would be to not be in school. I've heard him griping about not having as much free time lately but I think he's just trying to figure out a way to get out of it."

Rubbing his chin Brave Heart considered the matter, "What if we work it out so he has some independent study time? A teacher could give him stuff to read or do and he just has to get it back to us in a certain amount of time."

"That could work," Tenderheart agreed.

"I'll trust your judgement on this, I'm no teacher," Love Heart said.

"On that topic, I would like you, Confidence, Independent Bear and Calm Heart to take the tests we gave everyone before this started, just to see where you are." Tenderheart held up a hand to stop Love Heart's protests, "I know you have your GEDs but I'd like to make sure you're up to our standards for this."

Love Heart sighed, "If you insist, but not until after the other exams are done. The Magi need to stay on alert and free from obligations just in case Cold Heart or someone else tries something."

Laughing brave heart waved off his concern. "We ain't heard from Cold Heart in months and No-Heart's powerless. We're fine."

"Well what about those other bears that attacked you before?" Love Heart pointed out.

"Either way it'll be good to have someone watching out for us while we're busy with the schoolwork," Tenderheart agreed.

"Well what about those other bears that attacked you before or the remaining opposites?" Love Heart pointed out.

"Either way it'll be good to have someone watching out for us while we're busy with the schoolwork," Tenderheart agreed. "but Love Heart, I want you to promise me that if Cold Heart does try something that you won't kill him."

"I promise," Love Heart reassured them. "If he does something we'll smash up whatever machine he's using then leave him to bluster and rage over another failed plan."

Brave Heart chuckled as he remembered one of the cold professors tantrums. "I'll tell the others too to report anything strange they may see."

"Sounds good. Is there anything else we need to discuss?" Tenderheart asked.

"Not that I can think of." Love Heart shook his head.

"Me either. In summary, get exams together, be on the lookout fer cold weather, and avoid strange bears right?" Brave Heart asked making Tenderheart frown at his flippant tone.

"Sounds about right to me," Love Heart agreed. "Want to go get lunch?" he offered.

"Heck yes!" The lion cousin grinned and leapt to his feet. "Lets rustle us up some grub!"

Terra finally stirred and pushed herself up from where she was lying in the dirt. "Good morning," she said quietly.

Hearing his companion waking Trez's head snapped up. He had been just starting to doze off in the last half hour. Yawning he muttered, "Mornin. Sleep well?"

"No, but I can tell you didn't." Terra patted him on the shoulder, "Do you want to get soem sleep before we move on?"

Shaking his head he cracked his neck, "No worries. OI'll be good once we get a goin." In truth he wanted to be somewhere their friend from last night wouldn't find them.

"If you insist," Terra said.

The small hole she had dug for them had caved in slightly at teh entracne but she dug them out without a moment to spare and they were on the road again. "If I feel any shaking earth I'm going to dig us a hole until it passes," she commented as they walked.

"Sounds loike a solid plan. OI know OI'd feel best hidden in tha ground." Fishing a protein bar from his pack he bit into it heartily. "Hungry sheila?"

"Yes." Terra nodded, holding out a hand to Trez.

Trez placed another protein bar in her hand. "Let's get a move on." Taking her free hand Trez double checked the area outside their shelter before leading her towards the jungle.

Thankfully, their morning was mostly uneventful. Terra was still on edge, twitching whenever she felt something tremble in the ground.

After about two hours of walking Terra finally asked, "What do you think we'll find with the crystals?"

"Good question. OI'm hopin' nothin' too hard ta handle, probably some o' those lizard men." Trez moved away from Terra to fill their water bottles in a stream.

Terra took a moment to sit down. "We shouldn't light fires for a while. They'll probably attract that T-Rex from last night."

"Agreed. We'll make due, no worries. If OI know anything 'bout jungles, they're tha bees knees fer fruit an veggies." Trez indicated the few banana trees around them.

"What kind?" Terra asked.

Trez cursed at himself, "Aplogies sheila, sometimes OI forget yer bloind tha way you get on so well. Loads of banana trees roun' here."

"Sounds tasty," Terra said. "Why would there be bananas here though? I didn't think they were around when dinosaurs existed."

"OI'm guessing we aren' tha firs' visitors here." Trez told her as he screwed the lid back on the bottle.

"That would make sense. But that worries me," Terra admitted.

"Understandable. But think of it this way to eh. If they made it here, they may know a way out." He offered optimistically.

"What worries me is that we never heard about this place, which means they probably couldn't come back," Terra said.

"Fair point." He glanced around the trees. "Ready ta move on?"

"I'm ready." Terra stood up and stretched a bit.

Trez opted to follow the stream for a while. It was open enough that he would hopefully see trouble before trouble found them. Terra kept a hold of Trez's hand as they headed onwards.

After about half an hour, Terra stopped, "Wait! I feel something."

Trez stopped so suddenly he fell over his feet. Gazing up from the ground he asked, "Where?"

"That way," Terra pointed downstream. "It's getting closer. Should I start digging?"

Trez had already dug his knuckles into the earth and was digging away, "Ta sheila. OI'll help ya."

"Right." Terra got down and began digging. "Don't go too close to the river. The last thing we want is a flooded hole." Trez made note of that. As soon as it was deep enough he fell to the floor, pulling Terra with him and Terra moved quickly to cover them and their bags in dirt from the hole to mask their scent.

Scarface had come down to the stream for his usual morning drink. Since it was still early he was not at his usual level of awareness. Yawning he bent over and began lapping water. Trez could just make out the top of Scarface's back from his angle in the hole, but it was still enough to make him shiver. Terra just lay still, for once cursing that she could feel every move the giant reptile was making.

The water was washing away the sleepiness Scarface was feeling and he began to feel his senses start to sharpen. That's how he smelt something off. He wasn't sure what it was precisely, just that it was new. Lifting his head from the water he sniffed the air, trying to find the source of the scent. Trez sunk even lower down as he saw the large head swinging back and forth over their hole. Just when he thought the dinosaur had found them, he saw Scarface whip his head to the right and roar loudly. He left very quickly, not even giving their smell a second thought.

"How long should we stay here?" Terra asked as quietly as she could.

Still puzzled by the big guys abrupt exit, Trez said, "OI think we are good to go. He bustled outta here loike his barbie was burnin' down."

"Maybe some of the peopel who came before got his attention," Terra said. She still stayed put until she could no longer feel the vibrations from the T-Rex's retreating footfalls.

Pulling himself out of the hole Trez looked in the direction the t-rex had gone. "Blokes gone sheila. We're oll clear."

"Right." Terra pushed herself out of the dirt. "Let's not go in the same direction he did."

"Ha, no worries." Trez lead her in the opposite direction.

They weren't gone very long when a new trio came to the stream. Two of them walked with a slight stoop. Their scaly shoulders hunched as they examined the ground for footprints. Behind them came their leader. His brow was adorned with larger horns then the other two, and there were some even larger ones on his armour. In his hand he held a large crystal shaft.

Looking to his underlings he demanded, "Well Nim, Keeg, what have you discovered."

The smallest one, Nim, looked to him, "Only thunder lizard Scarface has been through here. But he is gone Shung."

The leader looked over the area, eyes narrowing on the pit Trez and Terra had dug.

Reaching out he pointed the crystal at Nim, "Thunder lizards cannot dig pits!"

Nim and his companion Keeg coward from the glowing crystal. "Humans must once again be in our home. We will find them!"

Keeg nooded, "Yes my lord Shung. Right away." Pulling Nim they went to inspect the pit.

Shung looked over the stream, eyes narrowing, "This will not happen again."

"Ugg!" Playful threw his textbook to the ground, "I just can't stare at this stuff anymore."

"He he he I'm amazed you lasted longer then me." Funshine commented from her place on her back. Her pencil was balanced on the tip of her nose. "Which subject are you looking over monkey boy?"

"History. I feel like everything that Noble Heart was teaching us jsut drained out of my head. I mean all the stuff about agriculture and the spread of civilization..." Playful held his head. "I think I'm gonna hurl."

"And that is the number one sign of studying overload. Time to take a break." Rolling over on her stomach she gazed up at him, feet kicking back and forth in the air. "Want to go shoot paintballs all over the clouds again? We haven't done that for a while."

"Sure, that could be fun." Playful stood up, taking a moment to gain his balance. "Good thing Confidence taught me that Judo stuff or I don't think I could stand right now," he joked as he made his way to his prank supply closet.

Once the monkey opened it, he immediately shut it again. "Bad news, Sunshine. No paintballs today."

Tilting her head in confusion she pushed off the ground and got to her feet. Reaching past Playful she opened the closet and gasped. The entire top three shelves were covered in a myriad of brightly colored splotches. Laughing Funshine shook her head, "Oh Playful, not again."

"Next time I'll remember to store them properly." Playful sighed. "At least that explains the pops we heard earlier, and I thought it was just the fuses in my brain bursting. I'd better clean it up before it finishes drying."

"I'm not so sure your fuses are safe. I'll go get the sponges from under the sink." Smiling at him she bounced off to the kitchen.

"Thanks Sunshine!" Playful called after her as he headed upstairs to retrieve some overalls for them to wear for the cleanup job.

Filling a bucket soapy water as well, Funshine returned to the closet just after Playful and took her overalls from him. "Thanks Playful."

"No problem," Playful scooped up a sponge and picked up the bucket, giving Funshien time to change as he carried them into the closet. He dipped his sponge in the water. "Well, let's do this," he said as he began cleaning the goopy paint off the shelf.

Slipping easily into the overalls she moved to join Playful. As she scrubbed she asked, "Is there anything I can do to help you study sweetie? I hate to see you stressed out."

"Sorry Sunshine but I can't think of anything right now. I just want to get this done before it dries," Playful replied. "After this I just need a shower and a rest."

Leaning over she kissed his head, rubbing it gently. "It's okay. I was just checking. As your 'Sunshine' I've taken it upon myself to always make sure your days are sunny."

Playful giggled and kissed her back, "Thanks Sunshine."

Swiping her hand down his face from forehead to nose, Funshine left a lime green streak of paint. "You're welcome Playful."

Playful had to resist the urge to retaliate as he began scrubbing a purple paint splotch.

Standing on tip toe Funshine got to work on the second shelf. "Well if we can't paintball, what can we do to make your brain un fizzle?"

Playful sighed. "To be honest, Sunshine. After we do this I just want to kick back and relax. Once I clean this paint off I'm going to be physically and mentally drained."

That worried her. Playful never wanted to just relax. Getting totally serious she nodded, "Sure Playful, if that's what you want." She resumed cleaning in silence again.

They worked in silence for a few minutes getting the most of the paint off before Playful spoke up again. "Sorry I'm being so boring today, Funshine. But with all the crazy stuff we've been through lately and those kids we were having fun with and my judo lessons I've just used up all my manic energy over the last few months, and all this hard core studying is just giving me a massive headache."

"My poor baby. You should have told me so. I know you like to put on a show for the others, but you don't have to for me. If you are tired or not feeling well I want to know. Then I can make you better." Leaning over she kissed him softly. "Let's finish this and I will make you a nice hot bubble bath to soak in."

"Thanks." Playful got a smirked and drew a purple line across Funshine's forehead. "But I think you'll be joining me, Sunshine."

Rolling her eyes up to look at the line she giggled, "Happily." Finding a pink splotch she pressed her paw into it and rested it on Playful's chest. Slowly she drew her fingers down, leaving streaks in their wake.

"Hey!" Playful gave a mock scowl before giving his girlfriend a kiss and moving on to the last major paint splotch in the closet.

Funshine took her sponges into the kitchen to rinse them out and then moved to the stairs. "Come up in five minutes and your bath should be ready." She told Playful as she vanished out of sight.

"I'll be up there," Playful called, scrubbing the last bit of pain off the closet. "Definately better storage next time." he said as he headed down to his basement, pulled off his overalls and threw them, on his pile of clothes that needed to be washed, something else he had to get around to soon.

In the bathroom Funshine had the tub filling with warm water and vanilla scented bubbles. She also lit a few candles to create a soothing atmosphere. Perching on the rim of the tub she waited for Playful. She didn't have long to wait as Playful appeared at the door about a minute later.

The monkey whistled, "Candles too, you really know how to make me feel special Sunshine."

Smiling at him she replied, "Well you make me feel special every day. It's the least I can do."

"And you're alright bathing with me?" He asked, moving in to give Funshine a kiss.

She kissed him back. "Just get in and you'll see." Playful grinned and pulled off his shirt and underwear before almost jumping in to the bath and sighing in relief as the bubble bath sunk into his fur and skin. Submerging her legs in the water Funshine leant forward to pull Playful against the tub rim. When he was reclining against the tub rim Funshine began massaging his shoulders and upper back muscles using the warm bath water.

Playful sighed happily, "Thank you Sunshine. I needed this."

"I could tell. You seem better already. You called me Sunshine again." As his shoulders loosened Funshine let her hands slide lower down his back.

Playful sighed again then asked, "Sunshine, do you think we'll have kids someday?"

"Well that's a silly question. Why do you ask?" She tilted her head around to look at him.

"Because we did so well with those fake kids, and honestly those didn't tire me out as much as... that weird reality shift thing we went through, or what happened with Fauna and No-Heart," Playful replied.

Funshine nodded, "I agree. Those were rough moments for us. But it was fun being mom for a few weeks. Although when we do it for real, I wouldn't mind just carrying one baby at a time."

"I can't promise anything, but I'll try," Playful joked. "You should get cleaned off too you know."

Smiling she pushed him forward gently and slipped into the water behind him. "Whatever you think is best Playful."

"Well I think you still have a purple smear on your forehead," Playful said, taking a washcloth and starting to scrub the purple off her forehead.

Closing her eyes she relaxed as he did so. He was right, this did feel nice. "You're the best. Even if it is your fault it's there."

"Well these are your fault," Playful said, pointing to the green stripe on his nose and the pink splotch on his chest.

Grabbing a wash cloth of her own she began to scrub the paint off his chest, "I should fix that then."

"Thanks Sunshine," Playful said, letting her clean the paint off. Pausing briefly Funshine kissed the underside of his chin. She had intended to stop after one, but one soon became two and two soon became three. Playful was starting to feel the intimacy coming on even as he rubbed the last of the green paint off his nose and he kissed her near her ear, putting his arms around her.

Relaxing in Playful's arms, Funshine rested her hands against his chest gently. "Mmmm this is really nice."

"It is," Playful agreed, this time giving her a more intimate kiss on the lips.

Kissing him back, Funshine made her legs straddle him, therefore sitting on his lap. "I'm starting to think relaxing isn't such a bad thing after all," she said between kisses.

"Not at all," Playful murmured as he kissed her again.

As things began to heat up, Playful managed to regain his senses long enough to ask an important question. "Funshine, do you think we're ready to take this step?"

Sitting back slightly so she could look at him Funshine smiled, "I'm ready. I love you Playful and it wouldn't want my first time to be with anyone else."

Playful smiled back, "I love you too, Sunshine. Let's do it." He pulled her close into a deep kiss. Funshine felt her stomach churn in excitement. Wrapping her arms around Playful she kissed him back enthusiastically and the bath water lapped around them as she did so.

When they finally climbed out of the tub the bounce had returned to Playful's step. "A bit awkward but not bad for the first time," he commented as he headed for his bedroom to get some clothes.

Draining the tub, Funshine wrapped a towel around herself smiling all the while. "Not bad at all." Whistling she followed after Playful to get dressed.

Playful heard her coming and tossed an oversized t-shirt to her as she entered. "Sorry I don't have a bra for you," he said as he pulled a pair or boxers and shorts on.

Funshine let the towel fall away and put the t-shirt on. "Oh this is fine."

"Feel free to take any pants you want, Sunshine," Playful offered, stepping away from his dresser.

She shook her head, "I'm good like this." Sitting on the bed she crossed her legs and grinned at him. "Unless you want me to put on pants."

Playful grinned. "It's up to you. Thanks for everything Sunshine." He gave he a kiss on the nose.

"Hey I wanted it too. I wasn't just doing you a favor you know." She crossed her arms in a rare show of disgruntledness.

"Not just that, I mean helping me clean up my closet, the massage, even just coming over to study with me so I wouldn't be bored," Playful said.

"Oh." Her bright smile was once more in place, "your welcome then." Leaning forward she kissed him.

"I hate to bring it up, but I think we should get back to studying. I really don't want to be stuck in classes all next year," Playful said.

Nodding Funshine got up and grabbed Playful's hand. "Maybe if I trace the map on here," She indicated the area covered by her shirt, "It will help you remember things."

Playful laughed, "Definitely."

Stepping through her brand new portal, Fauna was happy to once more see the large trees and wild plant growth of Scarface's home. "Now all I have to do is find him." As Fauna walked away, the portal closed behind her, preventing any dinosaurs from sneaking through. As she walked a roar echo from the west. Fauna answered it with a loud whinny and went running off to meet up with Scarface.

Scarface smiled when he saw Fauna come running through the trees, "Scarsister you're back! How did you manage it so soon?"

Flapping her wings she flew up to eye level with him, "I have some help on the other side. One of my kind is proficient with portals. He made me one so I can come and go as I please."

"Well that's wondrous." Scarface replied while nudging Fauna lightly, "I missed you. Hunting is so much more fun with your quips."

Laughing, Fauna replied, "I missed you too. So why waste time? Let's hunt."

Good eye twinkling, he nodded, "And I know exactly what I want. There are new intruders in my home."

Fauna snickered, "Well then let's get them gone." He led the way back to the mountains so they could catch a scent.

Terra and Treasure Hunt were making decent progress until Terra stopped Trez. "Something's coming again, not as big as that dinosaur but something else."

"Bonza," Trez muttered. "Any oidea wha?"

Terra shook her head, "Sorry, I can't tell. Any place we can hide?" she asked.

The echidna looked around but saw nothing promising at first. "Some bushes, but that's about it."

"Better than nothing, show me," Terra said, tightening her grip on Trez's hand. Trez quietly pulled them into the bushes. He was hoping that the flowers would also mask their smell.

Terra pressed her arms to the ground. "They're getting closer, there's more than one," she whispered.

"You don' say." Trez saw the three lizard like men Terra had felt. "Membah those people with tha crystals OI told you bout?"

"Lizard men?" Terra asked.

"Yup. Well OI jus confirmed they still aroun'." He watched as the sleestacks searched the area. Seeing the largest ones crystal he smirked, "An they still use their shoines."

"I don't want to risk them not being friendly. Remember if anyone's been here before they probably never came back," Terra cautioned.

"Don have ta remoind me." Watching them, Trez realized the lizards had lost their scent and were trying to figure out what to do.

"We should leave Shung. This is the thunder lizard's territory."

With a heavy sigh the leader nodded, "If humans have returned, they may try to seek refuge in the Porters tree house. Let's go there." Eager the henchman changed direction and quickly disappeared. Shung however turned in a different route, headed for his home. He had been gone long enough he decided.

Terra sighed as she felt them moving off. "Sounds like they don't like humans," she voiced.

"Good thing we aren't humans eh?" Trez offered to lighten the mood. "Unfortunatley it souns loike you were roit. Those 'Porter' blokes aren' around anymore."

"When they said thunder lizard, do you think they meant the T-Rex?" Terra said as she stood up cautiously.

"Makes sense. He does make a lot o noise when he moves." Trez was waiting for Terra, arms crossed.

Terra was able to stand. "Do you think we can ever go back to Earth?" Terra asked.

"Sure. Jus gotta foind anotha portal OI reckon."

Terra just nodded. "Where should we go now?" she asked.

Looking after Shung Trez smirked, "OI think we should follow tha big bad head honcho. He seems ta know where the rocks are."

"I don't know if he'd welcome us," Terra said. "I'm sorry Trez but this is getting to me."

Trez chuckled again, "Love, OI neva intended fer him ta know we were there. Think of this as tha less honest soide of moi job."

"Oh, you mean sneaking." Terra caught on. "Alright we can try that."

"Ta sheila. Let's go before OI loose him." Taking her hand he hurried silently after Shung. Terra kept pace with Trez, trying to step as lightly as possible but keeping her senses alert in in case something came after them.

Scarface had paused in the tracking, brow furrowing. "What's the matter Scarface?"

"We are entering a territory I do not like to go through. It belongs to the Sleestacks." In response to Fauna's confused look he added, "They look like my kind but walk on two legs and have human traits as well."

"Interesting. And you don't get along with them?"

Scarface growled, "The large one has a crystal that messes with my mind."

Fauna nosed him, "We'll hang out here then. And if your prey returns we will be ready to greet them."

"I like this plan. Come, I will show you the melon patch while we wait." Fauna licked her lips and followed Scarface once more.

"How much farther?" Terra asked as she and Trez stopped for a moment.

Trez shrugged, "Dunno sheila. Until lizard face there stops OI guess. But OI think we are gettin close." To indicate his reasoning he explained, "There are some sand stone structas poppin up."

"What's your plan when we get there?" Terra asked.

"Troi an foind tha cave where OI can dig up some crystals."

"Alright." Terra nodded. "Are you going to try and talk to them?"

"Negative. Judgin boi tha way he spoka ta his fellows OI'd ratha not." Tres saw Shung disappear into a cave decorated with relics made of bones. Gulping he tugged on Terra, "We're here. Toime ta start lookin fer tha cave."

"Want me to come with you or stay here?" Terra asked.

"You feel safe stayin alone here? OI don moind you taggin along," Trez told her.

"Then I'll stay with you. Lead on, Trez," Terra replied. Taking her hand he lead her into the heart of sleestack territory.

"Still nothing." Love Heart sighed, staring out the window from the couch.

"You almost sound dissappointed. Are you telling me you want something bad to happen?" Confidence teased, poking him before switching the TV off.

"Maybe... I like living here and taking time to talk with Tender and Brave Heart about how to plan things. I'm getting a real sense of how to be a leader when there isn't a huge threat on the horizon but I still miss all the travelling we used to do, and as unpleasant as it was even fighting against the hunters," Love Heart confessed, turning to face Confidence with a slight frown on his face.

"It's not the same but I wouldn't call this boring. It's nice to have a house to ourselves, to not have everyone complaining about the noise we make at night," Confidence said as she turned to stare out at the huge garage where their old tour semi was stored. A sudden flash of inspiration hit the fennec and she grinned. "I know, how about we ask if we can have a prom at the end of the school year?"

"A prom?" Love Heart asked, sounding a bit confused.

"Yeah! A big dance, dinner and snacks for everyone to attend. We can even get The elements back together to perform, no human forms this time though," Confidence said, the excitement in her voice rising with each word.

Love Heart smiled, "Perfect, I'll pitch it to Tenderheart and Brave Heart tomorrow. You're great Confidence."

Confidence Heart smirked, "Beauty, brains and brawn, I'm the whole package."

"How'd I ever get you to fall for me?" Love Heart asked.

Confidence Heart moved on to Love Heart's lap, "Because you're a great guy, you don't ignore my idea or opinions, you don't treat me like I need to be protected…" she gave Love Heart a deep kiss before finishing her thought, "And you're always such a sweet guy when we're alone."

Love Heart chuckled, "You're such a passionate woman, Cassy." He ran his fingers up and down her spine, sending a slight electric tingle along her back.

"Ooooh," Confidence Heart moaned, "Feeling eager now are we?"

"How could you tell?" Love Heart gave a sly grin as he slid his arms under her shirt. Confidence Heart shuddered as she felt him fiddling with her bra clasps and moved her hands down, carefully pulling off Love Heart's pants.

Sitting at her kitchen table Swift Heart was working on some equations under Grumpy's watchful eye. He too was studying, going over some of the finer plot points from his English class books. Hearing her pencil begin to tap more frequently he looked over at Swift Heart. It looked like she had almost reached the end of the set, which also meant her attention span was but used up. Hopefully she wouldn't just scribble something down to get it done after all she had been getting better at math.

Grumpy's hope was dashed however and Swift Heart wrote down her answers too quickly and shoved her paper to Grumpy. "Walla, check me over." Hopping up she made a mad dash for the kitchen and poured herself some V8 juice. She watched as Grumpy looked her paper over. For the first couple of problems he didn't write anything down. But then as he went on, he started to correct more and more things. Reaching the last three problems, Grumpy looked up at Swift Heart and put blatantly large "x's" through her problems. She winced, "So not even a close guess?"

"I've told you Swift Heart, you need to take your time. Otherwise you rush and get answers not even in the same ball park as the equation you are doing."

"Whatever. I got the first couple right yeah?" Groaning in defeat Grumpy nodded, making Swift Heart smile, "See! that alone is better than I did at the beginning of the year." Returning to the table she hugged him around his shoulders. Even though he was sitting, Swift Heart barely had to lean down to do so. "I don't expect to be a Cinderella story valedictorian. I just want to pass and be done with this school thing."

"I'm with you there." Turning he gave her a smile, and as always it set her heart a flutter, "Besides, if memory serves I owe you a trip to Hawaii. Maybe we should do that to celebrate finishing school."

Her eyes popped, "Seriously? Cause I will totally study more to make sure I pass." He laughed and nodded making her kiss him.

"Grumpy you are the best. For now though I need a break from studying. Want to come with me to see what Confidence is up to? Besides it's almost time for me to have my training session anyway."

He nodded, "Sure. I could use a break too. Besides, I need to return Bright Hearts soldering iron to him."

She frowned, "What happened to yours? I know you have one because it makes that awful smell when you use it."

Sneering and looking embarrassed at the same time Grumpy replied, "I accidently broke it. The tip was malfunctioning and I got mad at it and hurled it against the wall."

Laughing she let go of his shoulders so he could stand up, "Oh Grumpy."

"Don't you 'Oh Grumpy' me! I remember fixing a DV D player I had to all but rebuild because someone smashed it in a temper tantrum."

Swift Heart held up a hand, "Okay 1, Fauna was in on that destruction too. And 2, it was making my Titanic DVD skip on the most romantic part of the movie, and the disc had no scratches on it. Clearly it needed to be punished."

He laughed at her again before opening the door for her. Once they were up the ladder and outside they took each other's hands and walked into the forest towards Confidence and Love Heart's house.

Confidence was just lounging on the couch and watching TV when she heard the knocking on her door.

"Alright I'm coming," she said, pushing herself up and off of the couch to answer the door.

"Sorry I know I'm early, but I really needed a study break." Swift Heart stood on the threshold smiling at her with Grumpy by her side.

"No problem, I wasn't doing anything important anyway," Confidence replied. "want to come in or just head out now?"

"I'm cool with coming in for a bit if you aren't ready." Turning to Grumpy she asked, "You coming in too or are you going to run off to Bright Heart's."

Shrugging he replied, "I'll come in. The Bright Heart thing will take three minutes tops."

"Alright," Confidence turned and headed back inside. "You know I think maybe we should go shopping for a bit before we go back to your training."

"Shopping?" Swift Heart asked in confusion.

Grumpy groaned, "Shopping..."

"For a battle outfit, like what Valiant and Snowy wear when they fight." Confidence grinned.

Her ears twitched and she looked at Confidence in uncertainty, "I need a battle outfit? Why?"

"Why not, it's cool," Confidence replied.

"Forgive her, she's a bit of an anime fangirl and seeing those two dressing up for a battle kinda got strange ideas in her head," Love Heart commented, passing through the living room with a sandwich in his hand.

"I see." Swift Heart mulled over the idea of a specific outfit for fighting in her head. Since Confidence was doing so much for her and she seemed really excited by the idea, she decided she could do this for her. "Sure, why not. But I don't know if I can do the whole 'anime' style." She put air quotes around the word, "It's just not me."

Confidence laughed, "Just find whatever style works for you. It shouldn't take long so let's go."

"Are you going too, Grumpy?" Love Heart asked.

He shook his head, "I only go shopping if forced."

Swift Heart pinched his cheek, "You're off the hook. You don't have to come."

Grumpy whacked her hand away, "Knock it off."

"Have fun girls," Love Heart said. "I gotta go to a meeting with Tenderheart and Brave Heart soon."

"Well let's go." Confidence grinned as she headed out the door.

Grumpy grabbed Swift Heart before she moved away and kissed her, "Can't wait to see what you choose."

"I'll bet you can't." She teased him, pecking his lips once more before following Confidence.

Confidence Heart had already conjured a cloud car and was waiting for Swift Heart. Once the rabbit hopped in she took off and began driving down towards earth.

"So any idea what you want to wear?" Confidence asked as they flew down.

"Probably something along the lines of the stuff I usually wear. Leggings or shorts and a comfy shirt." Leaning back she propped her feet on the dashboard, sunglasses going on, "All form fitting of course."

"Sounds good, I know some places with a good mix of stuff you can buy. I usually just wear my gi when I'm fighting I was thinking of adding somethign to it, or maybe making it less loose," Confidence commented.

"Like a belt? Don't you already have one of those?" Swift Heart asked.

"More like a shirt that doesn't hang so loosely, especially around the wrists," Confidence replied.

"Gotchya. I'm sure we could find something to make you feel a little more kick ass," Swift Heart responded.

"Sounds good, and here we are," Confidence pulled the cloud car in for a landing.


	32. Finals Arc, Part 3

Chapter 32

While Swift Heart had gone down to earth to shop Grumpy had used the opportunity to slip over to Bright Heart's and return the soldering iron. Returning to Confidence's house he saw the girls weren't back just yet so he sat out front to wait. Munching on the bag of chips he'd taken from Bright Heart he mentally tested himself on his English class notes. Grumpy didn't have long to wait as the sound of Confidence's Cloud Car was heard only a couple minutes later. Upon landing, Confidence hopped out, her hair having been done back in a tight braid rather than loose like it usually was, and what looked like a tight white t-shirt with the arms ripped off.

"Gotta go get my gi-pants," she said, heading inside.

Grumpy had barely spared her a second glance as she went rushing by. Instead he was watching as Swift Heart climbed out of the car. She was wearing a black tank top decorated with a winged heart made out of rhinestones. The wings of the heart were very elaborate and the decal as a whole covered almost the entire front of the shirt. On her lower half was tight fitting black capri leggings and combat boots on her feet, also in black.

"Well don't you look badass."

"That was the idea Grumpy," Swift Heart replied as she walked up to him. Swift Heart spun in place so Grumpy could see she that had cut a hole in the leggings for her tail to stick through.

When she reached him he gripped her legs, almost making her fall. "I like it. Anyone with half a brain would think twice about messing with you."

Placing her hands on his shoulders she squeezed them, "Also the idea. But seriously, how cool is this?" She pointed to the rhinestone version of her tummy symbol.

"As cool as ever." Grumpy joked.

Confidence emerged, her jeans replaces with the pants she wore with her karate gi and her black belt tied around her waist. "Well I'm ready. Want me to give you two a few minutes before we head to the gym?" Confidence asked.

Grumpy was clearly about to say yes, but Swift Heart cut him off, "Nah we are good. He can ogle the new threads later. I only have a few hours a day with you to become totally boss at kicking butt." She moved away from a glowering Grumpy.

"Let's go then," Confidence said as she stretched her legs. "We might as well start now and warm up with a run to the gym."

"Now you are definitely speaking my language." She set off at an easy jog at first with Confidence beside her.

"Trust me you'll like what we do today. But don't talk now, just run," Confidence said, picking up the pace a little.

"Hah." Swift Heart's ears flicked back and she easily moved into the next gear.

It didn't take long for them to reach the gym and they easily came to a stop at the front doors. "Alright, just get used to moving in your new outfit and give me a minute to shut the windows and check everything," she said as they entered and Confidence moved to shut all the windows.

"Shut the windows?" Swift Heart muttered to herself. Regardless she began her stretches, loosening her clothes and muscles.

It didn't take long for Confidenec to shut the window blinds and even lock the door to the gym. "Alright that's good," she said, moving to join Swift Heart

"Why did you need to do that?" Swift Heart asked.

"I've been hearing odd things around here lately. I think someone might be spying on us," Confidence explained.

She didn't like that at all. For reasons unknown to her Swift Heart got the feeling of ice water rolling down her back. Trying to rationalize and swallow down her fear, she said, "It's probably just Playful and Funshine, trying to figure out a way to get us."

"Might be, but now no one can see us and I have something to teach you that I don't want anyone to know about," Confidence said, giving a smirk.

"Really? Well what is it? You know I'm impatient." She said shifting her wieght from foot to foot.

"You know that thing that Valiant Heart and Snowy do where they look liek they're teleporting but really just moving so fast that you can see it?" Confidence asked.

Swift Heart looked slightly disappointed, "Yeah. But why do I need to know that? I'm already the fastest one up here, without cheating."

"I'll show you," Confidence moved across the room and stood in front of a mat covered wall. "Now try and hit me. Charge at me as fast as you can and hit me."

"If you insist." Swift Heart charged at full speed and jumped kicked right at Confidence, who suddenly vanished right as Swift Heart's foot was about to connect.

"Ow! what the-" Swift Heart cringed as she fell back, holding the foot that had hit the wall.

"Running speed is one thing, good for getting around, but even you have a little delay before you're up to top speed. If you can move out of the way or close the distance before someone knows what you're doing you can surprise them." Confidence said, moving to help Swift stand. "You can't get around as fast this way as you could by running but trust me, in a fight it could save your life, plus it's nice to have a few tricks that no one knows you have."

"I think my foot would have to agree with you." She winced as she rested her weight on her foot once more. "Alright, teach me this flash step thing."

"Alright." Confidence moved a couple steps away from Swift Heart, "I asked Valiant about this once and he said that you need spirit powers to pull it off. Ha!" she laughed. "I watched him doing this once and I saw how it works: you just need to kick the ground 20 times in the space of a second then learn how to control your stop."

"Oh is that all? 20 times in a second. And you can do this?" She asked Confidence.

"Not right away, it took a lot of practise. and I've seen how fast you run so you're farther along than most people. You just need to do it in the same spot on the ground instead of in a straight line," Confidence explained.

"Like this?" Swift Heart began hammering her right foot on the ground repeatedly.

"Sort of, but with both feet and a bit faster." Confidence nodded. "I know you'll get this, you just need to work on it."

"Just like with everything you've taught me. I'm senseing a pattern here," she teased Confidence.

Confidence laughed, "Well that's how martial arts goes. The big difference is that you have a talent for this. Nova's really persistent and she's learned a lot more than I thought she would in such a short time. but she has no talent for this. She's still good though."

Swift Heart laughed, "From what I've heard, Nova has a talent for telling you how it is, no matter what consequences it will bring. Fauna is convinced she has no filter."

"Nope, she doesn't," Confidence said. "Now let's get to training."

Trez released his breath as he and Terra finally arrived in the mine shaft. It had taken them an hour to navigate through the mining operations. There had been more of the lizard-like sleestacks keeping keen eyes on another group of strange people. They appeared to be large apelike creatures covered from head to toe in long thick fur. Because of some sleestacks talking, Trez understood they were called Pakuni. "OI think we're safe."

"There's a lot going on here," Terra said. "I can't feel anyone in the mine shaft."

"OI think they er wrappin up fer tha day." Trez told her. He hadn't seen anyone come in or out in the last few minutes. That's why he'd chosen this shaft. Farther down he could see a softly pulsing purple light. "OI think we wanna go this way."

"OK. I can lead down here. Is there any source of light?" she asked.

"Few lamps on tha wall." He told her. "But OI wouldn moind you takin tha reins sheila."

Terra nodded and headed down into the shaft. "Much better," she sighed happily once she was in the shaft.

Trez smiled as he saw the mole relax. "Been awhoile since you been able to burrow. Glad you feelin safe."

"Safer than I do above ground," Terra said as she led the way, one hand on the wall. "This shaft isn't that complicated, but there are a few tunnels taht split off and end farther down."

"Whicheva way you think is best sheila. OI'm bettin there are no shortage of shoines in here." Trez was looking the walls over, seeing some pick axe and shovel scars in the dimly lit space.

"Well I'll leave that to you to find that out," Terra said as they ventured deeper into the shaft.

Sure enough at the point where the shaft split, Trez could still see the light coming from all the branches. "Let's go left." The light was a little stronger down here. "Still jus us?"

"So far," Terra reassured him.

Nodding Terra took over the lead. In another 20 yards Trez could see crystals sticking out of the walls. "Jackpot." Reaching into his pouch, Trez took out a specialized glove. His knuckles were covered in metal plates, protecting them from any hard stuff he may hit in his digging.

"Find what you're looking for?" Terra asked.

"Yup. Looks loike there's loads o those crystals in here. OI'm only gettin a few though," he responded.

"And then let's hope we can get out of here without causing an alarm," Terra said.

"Don think they got anything quoite that sophisticated 'roun here. Bout as techy as a Magic Man." Trez told her, dirt falling softly around him as he dug.

"I know, but they can still shout and get everyone looking for us," Terra said.

"Cheers. OI getchya." As the crystals came loose, Trez took a moment to admire their shiny faceted surface. "OI wonder wha OI'll do with you."

"The crystals? Well they're a power source but that's all we really know," Terra said.

"OI know Terra. OI jus mean who would benefit mos'from this." Tucking the crystals in his bag he handed one to Terra to feel over. "Take a gander."

Terra felt the crystal in her hands. "Well from what I've heard from everyone else I'm sure it would be a good clean power source, the only problem is getting them and I don't want to think about what will happen if anyone in our world with authority finds out about this place." She returned the crystal to Trez, "Maybe we should just keep them as spare batteries for our stuff for now."

Thinking over her statement Trez nodded. "Fer now OI agree with you sheila. Ready ta head back ta camp?"

"Yes, let's go," Terra said, heading back towards the shaft entrance.

At the mouth of the shaft Trez made doubly sure their path back out was as clear as it was on the way in. The sun wasn't setting just yet, which was good because he didn't want to think about going through the jungle in the dark.

"Are we safe," Terra asked, once again holding onto Trez for guidance.

"Fer now yes. Jus stick close while OI get us outta here." He gently led her back across the mine camp. Terra kept a hold of Trez's hand as he led her back across the camp. She barely dared to breathe lest she inadvertently reveal their presence.

Seeing a group of sleestacks walking towards them, Trez Pulled Terra behind a halfway dilapidated wall and waited for them to pass. They were angry about something but he couldn't tell what. After they passed he waited another few seconds before resuming their trek. "Almos' there." He whispered to Terra when he saw the Monolith lizard statues at the edge of the territory as well as Shung's cave. Terra just nodded, not wanting to speak.

They passed through the statued gate without hazard and Trez breathed a sigh in relief. "See? Easiet than foinding a kookabura."

"So far." Terra sighed in relief, "Now where do we go?" she asked.

"Back ta camp. OI'm roit tuckered out an need a few winks." As if to punctuate his claim, Trez yawned.

"Alright, lead the way," Terra said.

Finding their path from earlier was easy. It mostly ran parallel to the river bed. All Trez could think about was wrapping himself up in his bed roll and passing out for a good solid chunk of time. It barely registered to him that the farther they walked the fewer birds he heard singing. In fact he didn't notice at all until the jungle had grown dead silent around him.

Trez stopped and was about to ask Terra if she heard anything when two t-rex burst from the trees and roared at them. Trez threw his hands up with a yell, shielding Terra as best he could. He didn't know what else to do. The roar was enough to send Terra to the ground as she scrambled to try and dig herself to safety.

"I knew I smelled you at the cliffs. And now you shall pay for invading my jungle!" Scarface bellowed at them. Fauna however had stopped upon seeing the so called invaders. Granted she didn't recognize the echidna, but Terra was very familiar to her.

"Hang on Scarbrother. I think you may be mistaken." Fauna called to Terra, "Terra, it's okay. We won't hurt you."

"We won't?" Fauna shook her head at the befuddled t-rex, "I know them."

"Fauna? Where are you? Are you flying" Terra called, having stopped digging for the moment.

"No...I'm sort of the one roaring at you." Sh replied sheepishly.

Trez had lowered his arms from his face, "You failed ta mention you knew the blokes stalkin us sheila."

"I didn't, at least not the one before," Terra said. "Did you shapeshift, Fauna?" Terra asked.

"Yeah I did." She did so again now, regaining her pegasus form. Trez felt his jaw fall open, now he had truly seen everything. Looking to him Fauna said, "We haven't met. I'm Fauna. I'm a member of your family too."

Trez cleared his throat, "Trez, loose membah. More loike casual acquaintance."

Fauna quirked a brow, "Really?" Looking to Terra she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"That's what I want to know," Scarface agreed loudly.

Terra did her best to ignore the roar from the other T-Rex as she began. "Well I wasn't really feeling happy up in the Kingdom of Caring and when we met Treasure Hunt and I found out about this achaeology thing he does I fell in love with the profession so I joined him. I've spent the last month with him on digs searching for artifacts. On our last dig we foudn strange crystals and a tablet that led us to a portal we kind of fell in and now we're here. Are you trapped here too?" Terra asked.

"I was the first time I came through. That was on accident. But then I had my shaman make me a portal so I could come and go whenever I want," Fauna said.

"That's good. Can you help us get back home?" Terra asked.

"You ready to leave already?" Fauna asked in surprise.

"What are they saying?"

"Excuse me." Fauna told Terra and Trez before speaking in rex to Scarface.

Trez wiped a tired hand over his face, "OI really needa nap." When she was done conversing with Scarface he told her something that made her make a face.

"I take it back. If you guys really want to leave now, I can take you through my portal and to the Falls."

"I'd appreciate that, what about you Trez?" Terra asked.

"Where will it take us?" Trez asked Fauna. "OI already said OI'd not be goin ta her ol' home."

Fauna chuckled, "Not a fan of the clouds I bet. No it will take you to my home and we can get you back to earth from there. Easy."

Trez nodded, "OI'm fer it then. Got wha we came fer."

"You might like the falls. I find them calming, at least most of the time," Terra said. "Where's the portal?"

"Back at the base of the mountains sort of." She checked her answer with Scar and he nodded.

"Well let's go then before your friend gets angrier," Terra shuddered.

Fauna laughed and returned to her t-rex form. "He's just agitated because he thought you were humans and he was ready to make up for past mistakes." Scarface scowled and Fauna smiled at him. Trez didn't look reassured. "Come on guys. You'll be safe with us."

"Thanks Fauna. I want to get back to Earth," Terra said.

"The feeling's mutual and please do not tell your friends about this place. I do not enjoy tourists," Scarface muttered.

Fauna giggled but told the others, "He doesn't blame you. It's hard being away from home."

"I'd just like to get back to our career," Terra said. She yawned suddenly, "After we get some sleep."

"Agreed. Moind if we grab a few winks afore headin back?"

Fauna shook her head, "No problem. Scar showed me where you are camped." Altering their direction they headed for the mountains now.

"I'm here," Love Heart said, arriving at the table. "Where's Brave Heart?" he asked, noticing the lion's absence.

Tender heart looked up and around the room, "Maybe he got caught up with Harmony."

"Guess we have to wait," Love Heart leaned back in his seat. "So how are things going at your home?" he asked.

"Oh um, fine. They've been going fine." He fiddled with his pens and paper. "How about with you?"

"Well Confidence had an idea for something I wanted to bring up." Love Heart sat forwards, "Want to talk about what's been going on at home?"

"You go first." Tender Heart said, "What's this idea Confidence had?"

"A prom night, after finals. Give everyone a party to celebrate the end of the school year. We were even thinking of getting The Elements back together to perform for everyone," Love Heart said.

Tender Heart smiled, "That does sound like a good idea. After all, since we are forcing the others to do the not so fun part of school we might as well reward them with the fun part. We can even let them organize it and they can form a prom committee."

edit: Love Heart smiled back. "I'll have to take song requests then. Who do you think will be on the committee?" Love Heart asked.

"I'm willing to bet Share, Cheer, and Love-a-Lot will be. After all they did a lot for the Christmas party," Tender Heart confirmed.

Love Heart nodded, "Makes sense. We can tell everyone at the next big meeting, when is that anyway?" he asked.

Looking over his calendar he frowned, "Huh, looks like we don't have one scheduled for a while. I might have to remedy that."

"Alright. So tell me, what's going on at home?" Love Heart asked, leaning forwards once again.

"Things have just been a little off lately. You know how Calm Heart moved in with Perfect and me right?"

"Yeah I remember that." Love Heart nodded. "Are you having trouble with a polyamourous relationship?"

He shrugged, "I'm not even sure if we have reached the polyamourous phase. We've all established we feel things for each other, but I at least don't know how to balance anything. Plus I just don't even know if what I am feeling is real."

"And how are Calm Heart and Perfect taking things?" Love Heart asked, sounding concerned.

"I don't know… I've been scared to talk about it with them. We sort of touched on it in the beginning and they were willing to see how it plays out." He sighed, "I just never thought something like this would happen to me."

"Having to share your lover with someone else?" Love Heart asked.

He nodded, "And not really minding. I mean if I went back in time and told 10 year old me this was how my life was going to be I would have laughed in my face."

"I would have cried if I told my five year old self that Koran was going to die soon," Love Heart practically whispered, his eyes turning down and away from Tenderheart. He shook his head, "Sorry, didn't mean to draw attention towards my past. Maybe you should talk with Calm Heart. She's a reasonable woman and she might help you work things out."

"I probably should." At that moment Brave Heart came running into the room. "Sorry ah'm late fellas. I lost track of time."

"That's fine," Love Heart said, giving the lion a smile. "I had a proposal to discuss with you: I was thinking that we should hold a prom night for everyone at the end of exams this year."

"A prom night huh? That could be fun," Brave Heart said.

Tenderheart nodded, "I said the same thing. I also suggested that the ones in classes get to plan it since it is like a reward for them."

Brave Heart beamed, "Sounds perfect. We can have a family meeting and tell them about it."

"Alright. I'll need to take song requests from them. We should let them do all the planning but we can help with the setup," Love Heart suggested.

"I agree. And we can use the Family funds for it. We'll give them a budget to spend and let them do whatever they want with it." Tenderheart began writing down all the things they were discussing as he spoke.

Unknown to the Care Bears, Cold Heart was planning something. In his ice castle in a frozen mountain top he was hammering away at a massive machine, it's purpose sinister.

Cold Heart pulled his head from an open control panel on his massive machine, his face still frozen in its perpetual scowl. "Those blasted fuzzy-wuzzies, so warm and caring and ignoring me," he stood up and shot an arm into the sky. "The great Professor Cold Heart! Well I'll show them, as soon as my latest creation is complete. Frostbite!" he shouted, "Where'd you put my toolbox!?"

A short man wearing a ski cap, heavy winter coat, and large boots came stumbling into the room. His arms were wrapped tight around an ice covered red tool box. "Duhhh right here boss. I thought it could use a little defrosting." Slipping slightly on a patch of ice he barely made it to Cold Heart.

Cold Heart snatched the tool box from Frostbite as he slid past. "You bumbling idiot!" he shot at Frostbite before he dug out a wrench and turned back to his machine.

"Whatchya workin on again boss?" The little man moved up to the machine and began to run his hands over some of the control panel buttons and toggles.

"Don't touch that you moron!" Cold Heart snapped. "This is my ultimate world freeze machine. When it's ready it will freeze the entire world all at once and those cutsey-wootsy fuzzy-wuzzies won't be able to stop it!"

Frostbite gazed at him stupidly, "But won't freezing the entire world take a lot of ice? I don't think we have enough in the freezer Professor."

"Of course we don't you fool! This machine will... oh why do I bother explaining things to you?" Cold Heart groused. "It's going to find a bigger freezer for us, alright?" he asked, not expecting Frostbite to even begin to understand.

"Whatever you say boss." Frostbite meandered off a ways.

Another voice entered the room along with the unmistakable clacking of heels on a hard floor, "And what makes you think this machine will finally help you defeat them?"

"Because they won't even know it's happening until it's too late to stop me, Auntie Freeze!" Cold Heart shot back.

She crossed her arms and glowered down at him, an imposing figure in purple fur. "I have heard that a thousand times before. But nothing you do has ever worked." Cold Heart just grumbled and ignored her, going back to his work.

In Care-a-Lot the Care Bears and Cousins were coming together for one of their meetings. Tenderheart, Brave Heart, and Love Heart had called this one to see what the others thought about the prom idea. They sat together now on the dais as their friends entered the Hall.

Seeing Perfect and Calm Heart come in Tenderheart flashed them a smile. Turning to the other two he asked them, "You don't think anyone will have a problem with this idea do you?"

Brave Heart scoffed, "Course not. Who doesn't love a good shindig."

"Yeah, I doubt anyone will hate the idea," Love Heart agreed.

True Heart approached them smiling, "So I hear you boys came up with something fun for us to do. I can't wait to hear it."

"It was Confidence's idea," Love Heart confessed.

"Well we can't wait to hear it," Noble Heart said as he took his seat.

Seeing the last of his family enter the Hall and sit down Brave Heart stood up to address them. "Hey all, sorry to interrupt your Saturday but the three of us have come up with a great idea. We think that to acknowledge all the hard work ya'll have put in this year, you should end the year with a prom."

It was as though Brave Heart had lit a firecracker. Cries of excitement, especially from the girls, erupted through the crowd.

"Looks like Confidence's idea is going over well," Love Heart commented.

Grumpy was sitting near Cheer and cringed as she shrieked, "Oh my wishing star yay! This is going to be awesome! Who's planning it? And pleeeease tell me it's not you Brave Heart, no offense."

He chuckled, hardly offended, "Nah we decided you guys should be able to."

Love Heart stood up and raised his voice over the crowd. "Decide among yourselves who's going to be on the prom committee and report back to me when you're done. We can have our first meeting tonight if you decide before the end of the day!"

Still smiling, Cheer turned to look at all the others, "Show of hands?" No surprise Love-a-Lot raised her hand looking just as eager as Cheer. Along with her were Treat Heart, Lotsa Heart, and Grateful.

"That was fast," Tenderheat commented.

Love Heart laughed, "Well if you want we can have the meeting right away in the hall once everyone is finished."

Swift Heart raised her hand, "Hang on. I think I want to be on this committee too. You guys with the exception of Gloria have very similar taste, so I'd like to make sure the rest of us get represented since it is a celebration for everyone."

"I agree," Grateful Heart nodded.

"Well then, family meeting adjourned," Tenderheart said. "We hope that your planning goes well."

As the family began to disperse, Tenderheart hesitated before going to join Calm Heart and Perfect.

"Great announcement Tender, everyone seems happy about it," Perfect commented as his boyfriend joined them.

He smiled, "Thanks Perfect. Yeah it was Confidence's idea. Hopefully it will do the job of keeping them entertained through exams."

"It should," Calm Heart agreed. "Do you have anything else planned for the day, Tenderheart?"

"Just to go over my exam one more time to make sure it's ready but that shouldn't take me long."

"Great!" Perfect gave Tenderheart a kiss. "We'll be around the house to keep you company and help you if you get overstressed."

"Ha, me? Overstressed? Never." Taking Perfect's hand he gave Calm a smile. "You guys didn't have anything else you wanted to do today?"

"Not without you," Calm Heart replied.

Tenderheart held his hand out to Calm Heart as well, "Sounds good to me."

Back at the hall Love Heart was seated with Cheer, Love-a-Lot, Grateful, Lotsa, Swift Heart and Treat Heart.

Treat Heart looked at Love Heart and asked, "No offense, Love Heart, but why are you here? I thought we were doing all the planning for this."

"None taken and I'm here to record your idea and take suggestions for music, since The Elements will be performing at the prom I need to know what kind of music or songs for us to practise. And when you go shopping for supplies I'm going to accompany you to help you carry everything you buy," Love Heart explained.

"How handy." Swift Heart commented, "Well music is a no brainer. Anything that's good to dance to. Like good strong bass beat songs."

Cheer cleared her throat, "Sure some of those are fine. But not everyone likes to only dance to hip hop stuff. I personally like more pop sounding things."

"If you want a suggestion, you should decide if you want a theme of some kind to help figure out what kind of music and decorations you want, unless you want just a traditional prom," Love Heart suggested, taking a note pad and pencil to start recording ideas.

"Oh I like a theme idea!" Lotsa exclaimed. "What about a safari jungle theme?" he offered.

"What would that look like?" Grateful asked sounding a bit confused.

"You know, we could have animal print balloons, tiki torches, lots of fake plants everywhere, and a picture section with a jungle hut setup. Maybe even some plastic animals for background," he explained.

Love Heart wrote the ideas down, "Alright. What do the rest of you think?" he asked.

"That could be cool. I just don't know how many songs there could be to go along with that." Swift Heart voiced. "What about summer time party? There are tons of songs all about summer."

"I like that idea. Would we be wearing swimsuits to the prom then?" Grateful asked.

"That's one idea," Love-a-Lot nodded.

"We could bring our swimsuits sure. But I think we should start off in formal attire at first. It is a prom after all, not just a trumped up beach party." Cheer put in.

Swift Heart nodded, "I actually agree with her on this one."

"So what kind of decorations will be have?" Treat Heart asked.

"Things that remind us of summer I guess." Swift Heart said.

Lotsa got excited once again, "Oh! I always think of hawaii. We could have flowers everywhere and beach stuff."

"And the tables could have mason jars as center pieces with LED lights in them to look like fireflies." Love-a-Lot added.

"Sounds great! Now what kind of songs should we have?" Cheer asked.

"You don't have to limits songs to your theme or decide yourselves," Love Heart interjected. "You can ask everyone else for song ideas when we finish here."

"I think that would be best." Love-a-Lot agreed. "So let's decide now who wants to focus on what. Treat Heart I assume you'd like to head the food department?"

Treat Heart giggled, "Oh definitely."

"I can help her with it too," Lotsa said.

"So that leaves the four of us to everything else?" Swift Heart asked.

Cheer nodded, hardly concerned, "Yeah: rentals, decorations, favors, and helping Love Heart with music. We can totally handle that."

"Alright, so you need to decide on all the decorations and plans you'll need before we split off. figure out what items we need to rent, borrow or buy, especially the food we're going to need to buy," Love Heart said.

"Well Defiant can come with Treat Heart and me when we go food shopping," Lotsa said.

"And I'm sure I can enlist Jolly to help us get some sand up here to get that realistic beach feel."

"Good idea Swifty. Love-a-Lot and I can go shopping for the flower decorations. We'll need to rent a photo booth and probably some lighting equipment." Cheer told them.

"And a volleyball net off to one side, or even outside," Grateful added. Love Heart was scribbling everything down and nodding as each suggestion came up.

"I'll go home and look through my cook books for some good recipies. Lotsa want to help?" Treat Heart asked.

Lotsa nodded "Yeah."

"Cool, so anything else we need to get covered now or are we good till tomorrow?" Swift Heart asked the group.

"I can't think of anything else except a list of supplies," Grateful replied.

"Well once you have that, let me know and we can go shopping," Love Heart said.

"She and I can put that together tonight and then we'll meet you tomorrow to go shopping for it, Love Heart," Swift Heart told him.

"Alright," Love Heart nodded.

Getting up Cheer grabbed her purse, "Come on Love-a-Lot. Let's go get the Care Card from True Heart and start spending on flowers and super swanky luau decorations."

Valiant had taken a crack at making lunch while Love-a-Lot was at her prom meeting. He was stirring up pot of soup, checking the recipe as he did so, "Smells good so far."

"I'll say." Love-a-Lot came into the kitchen sniffing. "To what do I owe this honor?"

"I thought I should see how my cooking's coming along." Valiant smiled, "How'd the meeting go, Love?"

She kissed his cheek before retrieving some crackers from the pantry, "Really good. We are doing a summertime theme. Luau decor, a volley ball net, and the Magi are going to be our live entertainment. Cheer and I are going shopping for flowers and stuff later."

"Sounds great." Valiant gave her a quick kiss before turning back to his soup. "It's tortellini and sausage soup. I got the recipe from Grams." He took a smaller spoon and carefully scooped some of the soup, including one of the tortellini noodles and a small chunk of sausage. "How's this?" he asked, holding the spoonful towards Love-a-Lot.

Swallowing her mouthful of crackers she sipped the soup from the spoon. Love-a-Lot tried to hide her eye twitch, "It's a little salty."

"That bad?" Valiant asked, glancing back to his project.

"Well I did just eat saltines so maybe that was it. Try it yourself." Still tasting the saltiness she went to get a glass of water.

Valiant took a taste, swallowed, then tried it with some of the noodle and sausage, "It's not too salty if you have a piece of tortellini with it," he commented.

"I did try it with that." Swallowing some water she shrugged, "Maybe I'm just getting sick. My taste buds usually get a little off when I am."

"Or maybe all the studying is getting to us," Valiant said as he ladled the two servings into bowls. "Maybe your shopping trip later will help."

Giggling she resumed eating her crackers, "Shopping always makes me feel better. I could always get a new necklace when I'm down there."

"Who's going with you to carry everything?" Valiant asked as he set the bowls on the table and sat down.

"Cheer and I are perfectly capable of carrying things on our own thank you." She answered smugly. Joining him she put her box of crackers between them, crumbling a few up in her bowl of soup.

"Have fun. So we're having a summer party theme? What should I wear for that?" he asked.

"Formal prom wear at first but we are going to have our bathing suits on underneath to change into. Best of both worlds that way," She told him while eating her soup. "I can help you get a tux."

"Thanks Love." Valiant smiled as he began to eat his soup.

"You know when I put the crackers in it doesn't taste nearly as salty. This is good Valiant," she complimented him.

"Guess I'm learning," Valiant said. "You don't mine me moving in with you before our wedding do you?" he asked.

"Of course not. It will be so much easier to plan for it now. Besides," She smiled at him, "I'd miss you too much if you moved out."

Valiant laughed heartily, "Thanks. I think I'll go get the rest of my stuff from my old house and store it while you're out."

"You can move some of it here you know. It's your house too." Reaching the bottom of her soup bowl she went to get more from the stove.

"That's what I meant," Valiant said dryly.

Love-A-Lot smiled at him from the stove. "Good."


	33. Finals Arc, Part 4

Chapter 33

"And in conclusion that is why the other shamans and myself feel we are always being undermined by-"

White Fang cut off the younger pegasus with a groan and eye roll, "Oy stop all the kvelling already. In order to be undermined you have to rank higher than the person undermining you. You most definitely do not outrank me Halo. I was casting newly written spells while you were still attached to your mother's teet. I am the one constantly called upon because you and the other two are just inept." Blue couldn't help but smirk at the sputtering look Halo gave White Fang for calling him inept.

Pointing his wing accusingly at White Fang, Halo addressed the Kingsire. "Myself and the other shamans were tasked by the council to take point on the annual purifying of the Falls. White Fang was merely supposed to watch. They felt it was time he share responsibility."

Again White Fang groaned in frustration, "And I was prepared to do that till you ninnies cocked it all up. You were casting a cleansing spell instead of a purifying spell."

Halo's cheeks inflamed, "They are the same thing."

"That I must disagree with you on Halo." Both he and White Fang looked to Blue. The king continued, "It is my understanding that a cleansing spell removes all magical properties from the object they are cast on. A purifying one merely removes all the negative pollutants it may have picked up so therefore by performing a cleansing spell on the very thing that keeps our home intact, you would be stripping it off all magic Including the cloaking spell that keeps us safe from the human world." Blue saw that as he spoke Halo was losing color quickly.

White Fang shouted in glee, "Ha! You see that ya schmo! Our baby Kingsire knows more about magic then you! Hang your head in shame and skulk away."

Glaring Halo bowed, "I retract my complaint. White Fang was right to step in. I will do my research more thoroughly in the future."

Blue smiled at him, "I'd appreciate that. But do not think I will not call upon you again. We can all make mistakes. Just know that I expect you to learn from them."

Halo smiled at the king, "My promise Kingsire." Turning he left the caves.

"Who's undermined now bubelah?" White Fang called after him.

"White Fang do not further belittle him. You should be teaching him." Blue moved off the rock ledge to join White Fang. "I made countless mistakes learning to be king and Wind Rider scolded me plenty, but it was always followed with correction. See to it the other shamans are better prepared for next time."

Blue saw that his reference to Wind Rider had the desired effect on White Fang. "Yeah yeah, I'll check over their study sessions and give them some pointers. Can I go?"

Blue nodded and White Fang headed for home. He was out of sight but Blue clearly heard him yell back, "But it doesn't make me any less right." Blue laughed and went to deal with his next issue.

Aurora was waiting for White Fang as he returned home. "How did the meeting with Kingsire Blue go?" she asked as White Fang landed.

Looking smug still he told his mate, "As I knew it would. I was right and Halo looked meshoogana."

Aurora gave her light laugh, "As I thought. Well we don't have any more lessons to teach today." She moved forwards and nuzzled her mate, "Do you want to just relax for a while?"

"I could do with a relax. Until another magic mess up happens and I am called upon to save the day." Bringing his wing around he lightly brushed it against Aurora's growing midsection, "How's the kinderlach?"

Aurora shuddered a bit. "Growing well, no movement yet." Aurora smiled and leaned slightly into White Fang.

"Good news all around then. It's a nice day, shall we walk?" White Fang asked her.

"That sounds lovely." Aurora nuzzled against him. "Guide me, Fang."

"Guide you, guide the wet behind the ears shamans. Next I'll be guiding the Council." Smiling at her he headed in the direction of the rainforest region.

Aurora laughed, "Well I doubt anyone else could give as good guidance as you."

"Damn straight lovey." Licking her cheek he asked, "What sort of lessons are you having Nova work on?"

"Curative and healing spells beyond our natural abilities," Aurora replied. "She's getting hesitant to return to see her parents lately."

"Why do you think that is? Do you think she is getting more comfortable here than at home?" White Fang asked.

"That's part of it, but it's also..."

~~~

"...the young males back home just keep ogling me!' Nova groused, lying down next to a pool, her horn creating a force to stir up the water in front of her.

"Do they know you're spoken for?" Renegade asked, a slight edge to his voice.

"Not until I tell them but they don't stop unless I'm watching them," Nova said.

"Nova that is what boys do. When they see a pretty female they like the ogle her." Dagger told her. "You should be flattered they want to get all up in your business." She added with a grin.

"Yeah well some of the other girls are getting annoyed that I draw attention away from then." Nova sighed, "It's because of all the work I've been doing." to emphasis her point she stood up and stretched, illustrating her visibly larger muscles than she had when she first arrived in the falls. "If you ever go to the grove you'll see that pretty much every unicorn is built like a twig. Gaining weight of any kind, muscles or fat, takes some serious effort for us so guys tend to jump all over any mare who's got anything to show off, whether they want it or not. It's faltering up to a certain point but when I just want to go home and see my parents I could do with a few less interruptions."

"So then take Renegade with you." Thunder told her. He was reclining in his wolf form against a fallen tree. "That way it will be very clear you are spoken for and it will dissuade the other unicorns from approaching you."

"Plus then maybe he will oggled by the girls and they'll stop being bitchy to you," Frosty added.

"Hmm?" Nova looked over at Renegade and smiled slyly, "Not a bad idea."

"I would like to meet your parents and see the unicorn's grove," Renegade admitted.

"Any of you want to come see it too?" Nova asked the other Pegasus present.

Thunder thought it over, "I wouldn't mind seeing it." He looked at Frosty and Dagger.

"I can go as long as its shady for the most part," Frosty said.

"There's tree cover pretty much everywhere. You should be fine, Frosty," Nova reassured him.

"Dagger? You coming?" She nodded to Thunder. "Flamer is going to have kittens when she finds out I got to go to the Grove."

"Alright sounds good," Nova said.

"So when should we go?" Renegade asked.

"We might as well go today, I need to drop by and see my parents soon anyway," Nova suggested.

"So if we aren't leaving right away can I go ask Flamer if she wants to go?" Dagger asked Nova pleadingly.

"Sure, I can wait." Nova lay back down by the pool.

Getting to her feet she cantered away. "Oh boy, Flamer and Dagger! Funtimes ahead!" Frosty chortled.

"By fun do you mean crazy reckless and most likely having a scuffle of some sort?" Thunder questioned him. The albino nodded.

"It'll do the rest of the grove some good to shake things up," Nova said.

"How calm is it over there?" Renegade asked.

"Well let's put it this way. Pegasus Falls is a fast running river, the Unicorn's Grove is pond so still you can see your reflection," Nova replied.

"Really? So you weren't just exaggerating? It really is that dull and tranquil over there?" Thunder questioned her. It was more rhetorical then an actual question.

"Pretty much," Nova replied. "Why did you think I spent so much time here even before Ren and I got together?"

"I thought you were just distracted by all the pretty colors," Frosty teased her.

Nova laughed, "Yeah that too."

Dagger returned 20 minutes later, trailing Flamer behind her like a cosmic tail of a comet. "So Grove trip I hear?"

"Yup." Renegade nodded as Nova stood up.

"If you're all ready to go we can head to the portal anytime," Nova said.

"I'm ready! Let's go before moody girl shows up and tells us again this is a bad idea." Flamer stated.

Dagger translated for her, "Ice didn't seem as excited about our trip as we are."

"Oh well, her loss," Nova said. "The portal's not far from here on foot," she added as she began to lead the way.

Dagger and Flamer yammered between themselves, speculating on what the Grove would be like. "Why do girls talk so much?" Frosty asked Thunder.

He shrugged. "They have a lot to say as fast as possible?"

"I couldn't tell you," Renegade said.

It only took about five minutes for them to arrive at the portal. "Alright, just give me a sec to open it." Nova's horn glowed and the portal opened in front of them. "There we go," she said, trotting into the grove, followed shortly thereafter by the pegasus who had come with her.

The grove was as tranquil as Nova had made it out to be. Leafy trees stretched in every direction and soft light barely filtered down from above. The only sounds came from the small wildlife living in the trees around them.

Frosty flapped his wings in the soft light. "This is nice."

"It's so calm here." Renegade sighed.

Flamer looked around, "Man it's like really, really calm. I don't even see any unicorns."

"They don't usually come to this part of the grove, that's why I tried making the portal here," Nova explained. "I do kinda miss the calm sometimes," she admitted.

"Yeah this isn't bad." Forsty agreed. He was really enjoying the low sunlight filtering through. "Where do you parent's live Nova?"

"We don't really have 'homes' or nests like you do, but most older unicorns stay in the same area once they settle down," Nova explained. "I'll show you where my parents live."

Dagger and Flamer hung to the back of the group. "So what do you think the other unicorns will be like?"

"Probably like a watered down version of Nova. She always says how dull they are." Dagger responded.

Flamer looked to make sure Nova was far enough away, "What if her parents are dull? What should I do?"

Dagger laughed, "Just do the same thing when other people bore you, space out and nod when appropriate."

It wasn't long before they started hearing other voiced nearby. "Other unicorns?" Renegade asked.

"Yup," Nova nodded.

As the group approached the other voices they saw them. Most of the young unicorns were silver like Nova but a couple of them had their fur patching through to white adult fur. A few of the males smiled towards Nova and she sighed, feeling their eyes on her.

"Hello Nova," One of the older unicorns, whose fur was patching to white, approached her.

"Hi Darius," Nova replied, trying her best to be polite.

"You're looking very well today," Darius said.

"Thanks," Nova replied.

"Who are your friends?" another unicorn asked, approaching the group.

"Thunder, Frosty, Dagger, Flame," Nova indicated each of her friends with a hoof before stepping back to stand next to Renegade. "And this is Renegade, the one I'm courting."

Dagger stepped forward, "Yeah you heard her. Courting. As in she is now private property so keep your hands eyes and thoughts to yourself. Got that?" She directed her question to Darius.

"He looks like a good match for you, too bad he's taken," a patching female pegasus commented as she passed closer for them to hear the comment.

"Annabelle," Darius' ears drooped.

Annabelle smirked and whispered, "thanks," In Nova's ear as she passed.

Flamer laughed, "Ooooh snap. What's the matter Darius? You can look at other gals but you don't like your gal looking at other fellas? That seems to be a bit unfair." Turning to Annabelle she asked her, "But seriously? You needed Nova to bring her boyfriend around to make an even playing field for you girls?"

She looked to Dagger and the yellow mare snorted, "That would never fly in the Falls. We mares can handle our boys all on our own." Thunder and Frosty looked like they wanted to melt into the ground.

"We prefer a more passive approach most of the time," Annabelle said. "How do you 'handle your boys" in the falls?" she asked.

"Less than passively." Thunder blurted out making Flamer laugh.

He smiled at her but she was already speaking to the unicorns, "We make our intentions clear and if another girl seems to share our interest we dissuade her."

"To each their own." She looked back to the other young mares who were now looking over at Thunder and Frosty, "If Nova said anything about why other boys were looking at her you all might get similar reactions."

"Don't be afraid to be direct," Nova added. "It'd be good if they got the message quickly."

Frosty smirked, "Hey I'm not complaining. I don't have anyone I'm courting so what could it hurt." He flashed the mares a smile and spread his wings for them to admire.

Several giggles were heard from the assembled unicorns. "You might have opened pandora's box there, Frosty," Renegade commented.

"If you want to explore while Ren and I go to see my parents then you can," Nova said.

Thunder nodded, "It's probably best I keep an eye on ladies' man here. Girls? You staying too?"

Flamer shook her head. "No way, I have plans. We are exploring." Together she and Dagger trotted off. Thunder saw some male unicorns looking after them and frowned without realizing it.

Nova and Renegade trotted away from the group. "So how far to your parent's place?" Reneade asked.

"Not far, just a few minutes," Nova said.

"So what are your parents like?" Renegade asked.

"It's just easier if you meet them," Nova replied.

"Can you at least tell me their names?"

"My mom's name is Joyous and my dad's called River," Nova replied.

Two pure white unicorns were grazing by a stream. One had a goat's beard and was slightly taller than the other and he reached up to retrieve a fruit for his mate. Smiling at him she took the fruit and chewed it daintily. The stallion's ears flickered, "I do believe I hear that wayward daughter of ours."

Joyous smiled at her mate, "Well she was bound to come up sooner or later." Looking up she saw Nova and a colorful companion walking towards them. "And she has picked up a straggler along the way."

Nova sighed as she approached, "Renegade, meet my parents. Mom, dad, this is Renegade."

"Hello, Joyous and River." Renegade did his best to smile but his nerves were evident.

River looked him over, "He knows our names. Interesting, almost as interesting as your presence here. I thought you were not encouraged to leave your Falls?"

"Well a lot's changed recently," Renegade said.

"They're not shut-ins anymore, dad," Nova countered.

His brows lifted slightly, "Really? Things must be changing."

Joyous nodded, "Not just there it seems. Nova has changed too." She looked over her daughter from horn to hoof.

"I wanted to change, mom, and I feel really good." Nova smiled at her parents.

"Oh I know sweetie. I just didn't realize you had changed so much so soon." Joyous told Nova with a smile.

Nova approached her parents and gave them a nuzzle. "Thanks mom."

Joyous ran her nose down Nova's neck. "We miss you sweetie."

River was still watching Renegade. "How long have you and Nova been courting?"

"A little over two months," Renegade replied.

River looked at Nova, "Nova you never told us."

"Yeah well... I guess with everything else going on it just slipped my mind," Nova laughed nervously.

He didn't look amused, "This is a big deal to me. It's your first courting."

Joyous laughed lightly, "And that is your father's way of saying he didn't realize you were growing up either."

"Yeah, my bad," Nova admitted.

"It's nice to meet both of you," Renegade said as he approached.

"Nice to meet you as well," Joyous replied. "Thank you for making our daughter feel so at home in your home."

"I do try. Nova's a fantastic mare," Renegade replied.

Nova actually blushed, "Oh my." for once she found herself too flustered for a reply.

Joyous laughed, a light bell like sound. "Come and join us for lunch and tell me and your father all about what Aurora has been teaching you."

"Can I come too?" Renegade asked.

"Of course Ren," Nova said. "Aurora's started teaching me more advanced healing magic lately."

"She was inviting you as well Renegade." River told him. "We would never exclude you. That is just rude and unicorns are anything but rude."

"Oh yeah, heheh," Renegade laughed nervously as he joined them. "Aurora's a good example of that."

"She is a perfect example of the classiness our species exemplifies" Joyous levitated a fruit towards Renegade.

Renegade nodded and accepted the fruit, using his own magic to grasp it, "I can see why White Fang became her mate."

River nodded, "Yes we heard about that. The first union of its kind. It was all anyone could talk about for a few weeks."

"Are they talking about how they're going to have a foal?" Renegade asked.

"Excuse me?" River was genuinely shocked. "They are having a foal?" He looked to Nova, clearly asking why she hadn't told them this either.

"I thought everyone knew," Nova said.

Renegade nodded, "I thought they'd have told you all. I mean Aurora said she found out from a unicorn healer."

"I knew and I told River. But he must not have been listening," Joyous stated. "He does get wrapped up in his own thoughts sometimes."

Nova laughed, "Sounds like dad."

River frowned, "I think I would recall you telling me-" He stopped as the conversation came back to him. "Oh yes. I remember that now." Joyous joined her daughter in laughing.

Renegade joined in the laughing, relieved that Nova's parent's had accepted him. "It's nice to get to know you," he said.

As Frosty and Thunder moved through grove there were more than a few nickers from young unicorn mares, some staring, some pretending not to and a few males seeming less than happy about the situation.

Frosty was beaming back at the mares showing them attention. "I'm kind of liking this standing out thing. I don't get attention like this back home."

Thunder smiled at his friend, "Then bask away buddy. Let them see all your assets." Thunder smiled politely to a less then pleased looking bunch of stallions.

One of the older mares with patching fur just rolled her eyes at the staring females. "So enchanted by anything exotic." She commented.

"But that white one is so cute," a younger mare countered, loud enough for Frosty to hear.

"Yeah listen to her, I'm cute." He replied while walking up to the older mare and her group. "And exotic too apparently. Never been called that before." He smiled to the older mare.

"Well none of us have seen Pegasus in our lifetimes. And you're builds are definitely different, more like Nova has become," The older mare commented.

"I hear we are a little more active then you unicorns tend to be. Plus," Thunder spread his wings for the mares to see, "It is hard to operate these without lots of muscle."

The mare smiled and some of the younger ones giggled and ooed at the sight of Thunder's spread wings. "That is true. We rely more on magic here."

"Yeah our elders would like if we worked more on our magic, but we prefer to use out physical assets," Frosty informed them.

"I can see that," a younger mare tittered. She looked over at the older mare who was rolling her eyes, "Oh lighten up Kiria, there's nothing wrong with staring at something attractive."

"Maybe try to find someone to court instead," Kiria replied.

"But how will you know you want to court them, unless you give them the old once over." Frosty asked her with a flirty smile. Thunder shook his head at his friend. He had never seen him so chatty before.

"Looks are hardly the most important thing to consider," Kiria replied. "Granted, the differences between unicorns are more subtle."

"Oh I agree. Flashy colors mean nothing if the mare underneath them is a bitch." Thunder voiced. A quick image of Flamer's gleeful smile flashed through his mind. Shaking his head he beamed to Kiria, "But I think you learn what you are looking for as you get older."

"That's usually how it goes, though some find who they wish to spend their lives with rather early." Kiria smiled.

Frosty nodded, "Oh we know all about that. We have two friends who have been together forever it feels like."

"Really? Who are they?" a younger stallion asked as he approached the group.

"Kingsire Blue and Fauna Greywolf," Thunder replied.

"She sounds destined to be your... what's the Kingsire's counterpart?" Kiria asked.

Thunder chuckled and nodded, "Our Queendame. It would appear to be heading that way."

Frosty cut him off, "But Fauna can't know that. She doesn't do well with commitment and she'd totally freak."

"Yeah what he said. But I don't see how it could go any other way. Blue lost Fauna once and he almost didn't recover."

"That sounds like a story. Would you like to share it?" Kiria asked sounding intrigued.

Thunder and Frosty exchanged a look and a nod. Thunder took point, "Well it all started when Fauna got in a fight with two of her closest friends..."

Dagger was following behind Flamer looking as perplexed as she usually was around her friend. "So remind me what we are looking for again?"

"I want to see just what these unicorns do. I mean come on, all we ever hear is about the legendary power of their horns. But think about when you first met Nova. A dry piece of seaweed had more durability than she did. How could a species so fragile be revered so completely." Flamer checked their surroundings before changing direction slightly.

"And to do this you want to?" Dagger still wasn't seeing the big picture.

Groaning Flamer shifted to her red wolf form. "Shift to guardian shape so we are smaller and just spy on them."

"Ooooh. Well why didn't you just say that." Taking on her porcupine shape she trundled after Flamer.

Sound from nearby drew their attention. Two males were facing each other, magic sparking from their horns. Containing her yip of excitement she crouched in some bushes to watch. "Dag come on! This is it!"

Watching the two face off Dagger grumbled, "Seriously? If they fight they are going to break something."

As they watched a bolt of light lanced from one of their horns turning the other's coat yellow with purple polkadots. A retaliatory blast turned the first one's hair into a giant afro.

"Flamer you're jaw is hanging open." Dagger told her friend. The red wolf was shocked indeed.

"It's just like pegasus magic. What the heck! Then what is all the blasted hype about!" Her raised voice caught the attention of the two combatants.

"Is something disappointing you two pegasi?" A voice from behind them startled them into turning around. Behind them was an elderly white unicorn with a rather long beard under his chin.

Dagger instantly curled in on herself in surprise, making her spines stand out. Flamer sat on her haunches and looked up at the elder. "I just...heard so much about unicorn magic and thought it was more than just changing each other's appearance." Realizing what the elder had said she frowned, "How do you know we are pegasus?"

"I've been around long enough to have met your race before, and I recognized the aura of your shifting surrounding your bodies," He commented. He knelt down and nudged Dagger gently with his horn. "No need to be afraid."

Slowly she uncurled so her head was exposed, "I was more surprised than afraid. It's an instinct." She defended herself.

He laughed, "That's alright. My name is Perio. As for our magic, one of the only laws we have is that duels for dominance must be battles of humiliation, the last battle that involved a contest of magical power had disastrous results."

Losing her guardian form Flamer nodded, "Ah I see. Well I suppose humiliation for a unicorn is just as bad as drawing blood."

She looked over at the two stallions. "I'm Flamer, and my prickly friend is Dagger."

"You're Pegasus?" One of the competing stallions asked.

"Looks like it to me." Flamer responded as Dagger too regained her true form. "I know what you're thinking, 'But pegasus are never allowed to leave their home.' Right?"

"Well yeah that's what we were told," the other replied.

Perio shook his head, "Young ones, always wrapped up in their own little world."

Dagger snickered, "I have to admit, it is more fun sometimes being clueless." To the stallions she said, "Because of Nova visiting us we have been allowed to return the favor."

"Isn't she Aurora'a apprentice?" one of the dueling male asked.

"She is," Perio replied.

"So that's where she's been disappearing to," the other male said.

"Ha! Totally clueless. It's been a little more than disappearing. She's all but been living with us," Dagger corrected them.

"Well she seems to enjoy herself there," Perio commented. "Are you interested in learning about unicorn magic? I'd tell you to go see Aurora but I think you know where she is."

"I just wanted to see what all the stories were about," Flamer told him.

"Yeah she doesn't like legends and mysteries and all that. She likes facts," Dagger further explained.

"If you want I can show you some facts," Perio offered.

Small magic sparks flew off Flamer as her face beamed, "Yes please!"

"Then follow me." Perio turned and began trotting away.

Flamer nudged Dagger to follow Perio. "Yeah let's go. See you guys later. Have fun going back to humiliating each other."

Perio led them for quite some distance. After about half an hour of walking Perio stopped. "This will not be pleasant," he cautioned the two Pegasi.

"Why not?" Dagger asked. She didn't like the sound of that.

"This is the site of the last battle between unicorns that was an actual show of power." He pushed through the trees. Before them lay a massive black scar on the land that stretched far beyond where they could see. The smell of stagnant air pressed into their nostrils and even the magic of the area seemed dead.

Flamer's ears flicked forward as she looked over the scorched earth. "Whoaaaaa." Lowering her head she sniffed the earth and began to sneeze rapidly as the smell burnt her nose.

"I told you. This is what the full destructive force of two unicorns' magic is capable of." Perio's horn began to glow bright green and he lowered it to the burnt out ground. He grunted and strained as the grass they were standing on slowly spread outwards, covering about a meter of the ground in front of them before he sat back on his haunches, breathing heavily.

"You can heal it? But why haven't you made it disappear completely." Flamer asked.

Dagger nudged her, "Some lessons aren't meant to be forgotten." Dagger motioned to the tired Perio to emphasise her point.

"That's part of it, but we have been healing it. This scar used to be twice the size you see before you," Perio stood up. "The damage I helped cause can only be healed by the most powerful unicorns. Anyone else's magic would simply be devoured by the hungry void you see before you."

"You did this? Seriously! But what happened?" Flamer looked at Perio pleadingly.

"Not alone. I dueled over a mate all over this area once over 600 years ago. Needless to say the mare we were fighting over was so horrified that she refused to have anything to do with us after this," Perio replied. "It was because of this that all contests of dominance must be like the one you saw earlier, to avoid destroying our home."

"Did the stallion you were dueling against survive?" Dagger questioned.

"Barely, he was in a healing session for almost a year before he was able to walk properly. It took us over a century for him to forgive me. I have been making up for my mistake by healing this damage. I can only do what you just saw once per day," Perio stood up. "The one advantage this affords us is a place to test out powerful magic since the land cannot be damaged any more than it has been."

"Well that's something right." Flamer offered. Looking over the scarred ground again she shook her head, "I definitely get the whole humiliation thing now. If all you unicorns hashed out problems this way, The Grove would have to change its name to "The Ash Wasteland."

"That's actually what we call this scar," Perio said. "Though I dislike doing so I could show you some of my other magic."

"Yes please!" Both girls responded in unison.

"What would you like to see?" Perio asked.

Flamer shrugged, "Whatever you got that won't tear a new void in the ground. And I guess if you like we can show you what we know."

Dagger scowled, "Yeah but just a heads up it isn't much."

Perio smiled, "Well there are few who would be able to impress me." He raised his horn which glowed, conjuring an orb of rainbow colored energy above his head. He hurled the orb a fair distance away into the sky above the Ash Wasteland where is exploded in a massive riot of energy; the shockwave sent a strong breeze over them from where it had burst. "One of the more powerful spells I know, though not powerful enough to cause serious damage at that distance."

Feeling the onslaught of air, Dagger barely had time to fold her wings in and close her eyes. "Well good to know you think so highly of yourself. And we may not be able to impress you but I'm sure one of our shamans knows things you don't." She like all members of her race didn't enjoy slights to her character. Flamer was mesmerized by the colors caused by the energy burst.

"Well will you show me what you can do?" Perio asked.

"I just said we don't have magic skills. All I can do is fight, fly, and shift." Dagger reiterated. "All the spells I know are ones every pegasus foal is taught."

"Forgive me." Perio bowed his head. "Is your friend Flamer alright?" he asked, looking to the still mesmerized mare.

"Hmmm? Oh yeah she's fine. Colors get her excited. She'll be over it soon." Dagger sighed at her friend's behavior.

"Is there any other place I can take either of you?" Perio asked.

As the lights faded Flamer came back into the conversation. "Yeah. Can you show us any other sacred places you guys have?"

Perio snorted. "I'd hardly call this sacred but I can show you," he offered.

"Fits all the qualifications of a sacred place back home. We have the cove of tears where one of our kind mourned his drowned mate for 30 years apparently. Daybreak and Nightshade took pity on him and made him one with the rocks so he could watch and make sure no other pegasus lost their life there." Dagger informed him.

"You do have a point," Perio acknowledged.

Joyous thought of something after they had been grazing for a while. "What did you say the others who came with you are doing sweetie?" She asked Nova.

"Dagger and Flamer said they were going exploring, Frosty seemed to like all the looks he was getting from the mares and Thunder said he should to keep an eye on him," Nova replied.

"Oh good. That seems pretty harmless. I just want to be sure they have unicorns to keep them busy and an eye on them so they don't get lost or confused."

"Frosty's pretty loopy normally, but he likes the shade here," Renegade said.

"Frosty's an albino," Nova clarified.

"An albino you say? That must be very inconvenient. I myself have never met one. Our kind does not tend to exhibit that genetic defect." River mused.

"Wouldn't it be hard to tell?" Renegade asked.

"Once we're adults anyway," Nova said.

"You know, I was scared to meet you two before today," Renegade admitted.

"All young men are when they must meet with the parents of the girl they are courting. As I hear it, some believe the girls fathers take on cosmic powers of intimidation." River joked dryly.

"I wouldn't have been surprised if you actually did," Renegade chuckled.

River smiled, "All fathers want what's best for their daughters. I learned what is best for my Nova is whatever makes her happy. So until the time when she comes to me in tears because you have broken her heart, I will not turn into the scary bellowing beast I am capable of."

"That will never happen," Renegade promised.

"Aww." Nova gave Renegade an affectionate nuzzle.

Joyous laughed lightly, "I hope so."

"So have you met his parents, Nova?" River asked.

"I never knew my parents. It's a complicated story," Renegade said.

"If you don't wish to share it you don't have to." Joyous assured him.

Renegade shook his head, "I don't mind sharing. I'm courting your daughter so you should know everything about me. I was actually created as a clone of Fauna by a wizard called No-Heart."

"And Fauna is?" Joyous asked.

Nova answered, "She is a pegasus raised by a group known as the care bears, and is currently dating the pegasus Kingsire. Her connection with the care bears is why No-Heart has any interest in her."

"I was created to try and get to her but I turned on No-Heart when he planned to dispose of me; he named me Hunter. Fauna accepted me as her brother and I changed my name to Renegade." Renegade sighed, "As for Fauna's parents, and mine, our dad was exiled for an unprovoked attack on the hunters and our mother was killed by hunters. Our dad died of a broken heart. This was years before I was born," Renegade lay down as he finished.

River pressed himself against Joyous. He knew Renegades story was breaking her heart. "You poor dear. It takes a truly good soul to recover from hardships like that."

"Thanks, but I didn't really live through most of them. Fauna's the one who had to suffer through it," Renegade said. "She's done a lot to help me though, it tore me up when I thought she died a while ago."

River blinked in confusion, "You thought she had died? No offense but it seems to me that this sister of yours is a bit reckless."

"Yep, that's Fauna all over." Renegade cracked a smile, "She likes to dive into things head first."

"Well then it is a good thing she is a Pegasus. With the exception of Nova we do not enjoy spontaneity. We prefer well thought out plans," Joyous said.

"That's why I stay with them so much. But I'll visit more often now that the other guys have met Ren," Nova said.

Joyous laughed again, "Ah yes. The swarms of boys who have taken an interest in you will now be at bay."

"So do you do anything interesting in the Falls, Renegade?" River asked.

"I'm training under White Fang to be a shaman," Renegade replied.

"How fortuitous. Nova is training under the shaman who is currently mated with the pegasus shaman that is training you. And you two found each other. What are the odds."

"Oh River their romance was practically ordained." Joyous gushed while beaming at her daughter and Renegade.

Nova smiled, "It's starting to sound like it." She nuzzled Renegade again, "We're going to be mates someday Ren."

"Yeah," Renegade nuzzled her back.

"You know dear. Since this has happened twice now I believe it would do our races good to form an alliance of some sort. I believe I should mention it to our council," River told Joyous.

"Sounds like a good idea," Renegade said. "I just hope our council doesn't oppose this. They're pretty stuck in their ways."

"Ren I'm sure Fauna won't let that happen." Nova assured him. "Besides it's been awhile since she's argued with them. I'm sure she'd be more than happy to."

"You're right. Joyous, River, have you ever wanted to visit the falls?" Renegade asked.

River shook his head, "I honestly never thought about it before. I was born after they were created so I never knew any pegasus per say."

"We could take you if you want, dad," Nova offered.

Again he shook his head, "For now I am content here. When both parties agree to allow inter realm travel then I will think about it."

"Well we can go talk to your council about it at some point. I'd like to just relax here for a while. You should too, Nova," Renegade said.

"Alright, if you insist. I could use a break from all the training I'm getting," Nova replied, as she lay down next to him.

In the Falls the Portal Fauna used to move between her home and the Land of the Lost was being activated. First came Terra, then Trez, and Fauna brought up the rear of the group. As she came through she watched behind her to make sure the portal closed completely and that no dinos followed her through. Turning to her guests she said, "Alright well step one over. Where would you guys like to go on earth? I can take you through the portal closest to that point."

"Probably near to where we entered that place so we don't make anyone suspicious," Terra suggested.

Trez nodded along with this notion. Fauna still stared at them, "And that was where? My many talents do not include mind reading."

"Oi recall it was somewhere in Europe. Just give me a map and Oi can show you," Trez said.

Fauna shook her head, "No need. One of our portals opens in the Highlands so we'll use that one. The moores are usually pretty deserted. Follow me guys." She began leading them into the heart of Pegasus Falls.

"So what do you think of of the fall Trez?" Terra asked as they followed after Fauna.

He shrugged, "Looks loike any otha forest OI been in."

"Psshhh just wait. You are only seeing the forest region right now. it connects to the tropical and desert regions also," Fauna called back defending her home.

"No worries sheila. OI'm jus sayin is all," Trez defended.

"How far is the portal, Fauna?" Terra asked.

"About a three hour walk. Normally I'd just fly you but if you went through it now it would be the middle of the afternoon in Scotland so I figure we have some time to kill till then."

Trez nodded, "Foine boi me."

"Has anything interesting happened here lately?" Terra asked.

"Not really. I think the most recent thing is Nova the unicorn living with us. Oh and her mentor, Aurora. And actually she mated with one of our shamans too so yeah that's been the latest news."

"I remember Nova. She came to visit the same day you came back. That sounds nice." Terra nodded.

"Oh right. I forgot you were still home for that. Well now Trez knows too." She smiled at the echidna. He smiled back but it was clear he didn't care either way. "So Trez do you have anyone you are rushing home to?"

"Negative sheila. Terra's all OI got an frankly all OI need." He chucked the mole on the shoulder.

Terra laughed and gave Trez a light pat which made him stumble a bit, "He's right. It's so much nicer travelling on earth and digging up ruins than living up in the clouds."

"Whatever floats your boat. I'm sure not jealous of everyone who has to go to school over in Care-a-Lot right now." Fauna smirked at the thought.

"It wasn't that bad for me. True Heart taught me how to read braille. But I agree, I wouldn't want to be stuck in class these days. Have they done anything interesting since I left?" Terra asked.

Fauna made a noise somewhere between a grunt and a laugh. "I'm not sure interesting is the right word for it. They did this thing where all the girls had a false pregnancy for two weeks and then they and the boys had to take care of robot kids."

Terra laughed nervously, "Good thing I left when I did."

"You're telling me. It was super freaky." Fauna threw up her wings and shuddered. Trez too looked perplexed by the whole thing.

"Have you seen what they're doing now?" Terra asked.

"Nope. I've been here working on getting the portal to visit Scarface. I have no idea what they've been up to."

"Is monitor duty always this boring?" Love Heart asked, looking away from the screen over to Tenderheart.

Tenderheart nodded and continued trying to focus one of the screens, "Yes Love Heart. But we want boring. Boring means nothing is happening that needs our attention."

"Right." Love Heart groaned and slumped back in his chair. "This makes me wish we were still chasing the hunters," he muttered.

Tenderheart looked at him briefly from the corner of his eye, "Yes well it's my understanding that you and the Magi made sure that would never have to be an issue again."

"Yeah, bad choice of words, those aren't exactly pleasant memories," Love Heart conceded. "Is that a cold front moving in?" he asked, pointing to a slowly expanding area of blue on the large map.

Looking up at the map Tenderheart frowned. "That's unusual. We don't usually see cold patches up here." Typing some buttons he tried to get a better read from the map.

"Is Cold Heart's place anywhere near there?" Love Heart was suddenly fully alert.

"His castle? That's farther up north on earth. But it could be his airship." He groaned as he said it.

"Worried?" Love Heart asked.

"Yes and no. We have dealt with Cold Heart a hundred times before so I'm not worried about that. It's just always such an inconvenience." Tenderheart groaned.

Love Heart clapped Tenderhreart on the back. "Relax Tenderheart. We'll handle whatever this is, and I promise we won't hurt hum, just crush whatever machine he's using to do... whatever he's doing," he reassured him.

"I appreciate that. He may be a nuissance, but he is hardly on No-Heart's level. I will make an announcement for everyone to be ready."

"Right, just make sure Confidence, Calm and Indy are here when I get back. I'll head out to see what's going on, I won't try anything until I get back," Love Heart promised as he darted out of the monitor room.

Tenderheart gave a heavy sigh and turned on the intercom. "Attention all, attention. Could Confidence, Calm Heart, and Indy please meet Love Heart at the monitor room. He needs your assistance with something."


	34. Finals Arc, Part 5

Chapter 34

It didn't take much flying time for Love Heart to spot the airship that Cold Heart was using.

"Better not let him see me," He said as he landed his rainbow roller on a cloud. He took an experimental step on the cloud and sighed in relief when it supported his weight and slid off. He conjured a pair of binoculars with his tummy symbol and lay on his stomach so he could get a good look at the flying machine.

Cold Heart stood in the front of the airship bellowing orders to Frostbite, who was stearing. "Faster Frostbite! We need to be over the Forest of Feelings for my machine to work!"

"Duh OK boss." Frostbite pushed the throttle forwards, speeding the machine up.

"They must be in a hurry," Love Heart said to himself as he watched the airship speed up. "Heading to the Forest of Feelings from the look of it."

Auntie Freeze joined the Professor on the deck, arms crossed in her ridiculous purple fur coat. "Coldy I told you this plan isn't going to work. You already tried freezing the forest before. And the cousins beat you."

"But this time I will freeze them so fast they won't be able to stop me. And besides I've been watching them, they're all busy with this stupid school of theirs. Those fuzzy wuzzies won't even have time to stop me!" Cold Heart declared.

"Oh I'm sure they can find 5 minutes in their busy day." She replied before returning back inside.

Cold Heart glared after her. "It's different this time Auntie Freeze. I have made sure that all those warm feelings will be frozen for decades to come!" He pumped his hands in the air.

"I'd better get back but first..." he conjured an instant camera and took a few pictures of the machine before climbing back in his rainbow roller and driving back to the Kingdom of Caring.

Tenderheart had opted to remain at the Hall. He wanted to hear what Love had found out. Currently he was standing with Calm Heart, filling her in on what he knew. "I should have known Cold Heart had been quiet for too long."

"Well if you're right about Cold Heart he shouldn't be a huge problem," Calm Heart said. "Hopefully after this we can spend some time together." She looked up at the entrance to see Indy arriving.

"Is Love Heart here?" Indy asked.

"Not yet." Tenderheart called to him. Reaching forward he gently brushed his fingers along Calm Hearts hand, "I'd like that by the way."

"I'm here!" Love Heart said as he entered the hall with Confidence walking next to him.

"Where were you, Confidence?" Calm Heart asked.

"Waiting outside for Love Heart," Confidence replied. "So Cold Heart's doing something?"

"Yeah, he's heading towards the Forest of Feeling, and I got pictures," Love Heart pulled the pictures out of the instant camera he'd created.

Grabbing one Tenderheart looked it over. "This is just the same old air machine he always flies. See it even still has the hooks on the bottom from when he was dropping giant ice cubes in earth's rivers to freeze them."

"And then there's this." Love Heart held up the best image of the machine he'd gotten. "What do you make of it? Should we get Bright Heart to look at this?"

"Probably. All I recognize on this thing is some subzero insulated freezer coils." Tenderheart agreed.

"I'll call him then," Love Heart said, heading for the phone and dialing the raccoon's number.

"This is great, finally something exciting to do." Confidence was grinning.

"You do know that we can't deal with Cold Heart as viciously as we have in the past. We're just supposed to stop him then let him sneak off to plot something else," Calm Heart said.

"If we could, Love Heart probably would have done something before coming back here," Indy commented.

"I know, I'm excited because this means we don't have to do any sneaking around or charging in and destroying everything, we can have some fun with this," Confidence replied, still grinning.

"Maybe I'll have some of the others go with you. Cozy Heart is usually very useful when we have to deal with Cold Heart." Tenderheart was still uneasy about leaving the Magi completely unattended.

"If she wants to come she can. Anger Heart would be useful but he still has trouble controlling his powers," Calm Heart said. "I'll make sure we don't go overboard Tender, at least agression-wise." She cast a glance at the giddy-looking Confidence Heart.

"Well Bright Heart should be over in a minute," Love Heart said, coming back to the group. He looked over at Confidence Heart, "Oh boy."

"Oh boy? What oh boy? I don't like Oh Boys." Tenderheart told him, head falling into his hands.

"When Confidence was a kid she was really in to superhero comics and manga. She always used to pose and say these overdramatic lines for fun so she's going to go a little nuts over this," Love Heart explained.

"It's nothing serious, we're just going to have to hear a few crazy speeches from her when we go to stop Cold Heart," Indy added.

"Good thing I'm not going." Tender continued to look through the photos. "Huh. Auntie Freeze is there too. I swore she would have given up on him by now after that whole wedding fiasco."

"Wedding fiasco?" Love Heart asked.

"Cold Heart tried to trick Auntie Freeze into marrying him so he could distract us and take over Care-a-Lot." Grimacing at the memory Tenderheart shook his head, "We were young back then. And Love-a-Lot really sank her teeth into it."

"I can imagine," Indy said.

"So what's this thing that Cold Heart's working on?" Bright Heart asked as he entered the Hall of Hearts.

Passing him the pictures Tenderheart said, "It looks like a giant freeze machine I think. And Love Heart said he was heading for the Forest of Feelings."

"Hmm..." Bright Heart looked over the pictures. "It doesn't look like anything he's built before. Not a normal freeze machine."

"Can you tell what it is?" Calm Heart asked.

"Well, those coils look like their designed to direct intense cold but I don't see anything on that machine that could generate the kind of cold we're seeing on the map." Bright Heart pointed to the moving disc of blue on the control room's map.

"Then what could be causing that? If it's not Cold Heart I don't know who it could be?" Tenderheart asked.

"Well it's definitely coming from Cold Heart's ship so he is the source," Love Heart said.

"We'll get some more pictures up close when we go to stop him, Bright Heart, and you can look them over when he's crawling back to his castle," Indy said.

Bright Heart nodded, "Then I can figure out what the machine will be doing and deactivate it."

"If you want, Bright Heart, but if things get dangerous I'm going to fry that thing." To emphasize his point, Love Heart made a spark jump between two of his fingers.

"Well then if that was the plan why did you all need me here to look the machine over?" He asked with a frown. Before Love Heart could answer, one of the monitors began to freak out and beep insistently.

"What's that?" Confidence asked, darting over to the screen.

"He asked you so we would know what we're going up against, Bright Heart, but you should come with us, I'd rather you shut down or reverse whatever the machine is doing that have us destroy it. No telling what it will do if it overloads," Calm Heart said.

Following Confidence Tenderheart looked at the monitor. His face fell slightly at what he saw. Illusion was in the river swimming his laps as always when all of a sudden the brightly colored water began to freeze around him. Stopped still, the gator struggled to get free while cursing fluently. However the cold began to take effect on him quickly and he began shivering violently. "We have to go! Now!" Tenderheart yelled.

"Got it!" Indy suddenly vanished.

"Right, no time to gear up, move!" Love Heart charged out the Hall of Heart followed by Confidence with blast of wind.

"Want to come, Bright Heart?" Calm Heart asked as she conjured a cloud car.

"I think I better. If that machine froze the Rainbow River that quickly there is no telling what else it could do." He jumped into the cloud mobile.

"As long as they can keep it contained until we get there. I can't move as fast as they do," Calm Heart slammed down on the accelerator and they shot out of the Hall of Hearts.

Tenderheart remained to keep an eye on the situation. He also called Brave Heart on his cell phone. When the cousin leader answered he didn't give him a chance to say more than, "Hello"

"Illusion needs help. He's frozen in the river." Brave Heart hung up without answering. Putting the phone down Tenderheart watched the river camera and the one with the air machine.

Love Heart and Confidence slowed to a stop as the airship came into view. "Damn, didn't think he'd get here this fast." Love Heart gritted his teeth.

"Looks like Indy's not here yet, wait he's down there." Confidence pointed down where the river was freezing, "Guess he'll help Illusion so we should stop Cold Heart." She grabbed ahold of Love Heart, "Hold on!" She crouched as the air gathered around her legs and she jumped up, using clouds as extra steps to get up to the airship's deck.

Meanwhile below in the river, Illusion felt his consciousness slipping away. His heart rate was slowing and his eyes drooping closed. "Ain't neavah been dis col' in mah life. Looks like I nevah will again." As his eyes closed he thought he saw Indy on the shore.

Indy stared down at Illusion, he'd somehow gotten his katana on the way to the river and he pushed the hilt out of its scabbard right as Brave Heart arrived. "Brave Heart, drag Illusion out when I cut the ice!" he shouted.

Nodding the lion prepared to leap into the river to get at Illusion. "Better hurry. Illusion is out cold."

"Gotta do this just right." Indy's body began to glow blue and he drew his s katana and slashed in a spiral in one motion, cutting a frozen block of ice that contained parts of Illusion away from the advancing wall. Not waiting he dropped hsi sword on the shore and dove in after Brave Heart.

As Illusion was freed from the ice he instantly sank below the surface. Brave Heart was trying his best to swim through the frigid river making him wish he had grabbed Cozy along the way. Sensing Indy beside him he tried to locate Etienne.

Indy surfaced for a moment to check for Illusion then dove back down once he spotted him. He tapped Brave Heart and pointed down before they both dove down towards the unconscious alligator.

They each grabbed one of his arms and headed for the surface. As they broke it Brave Heart took in a huge breath of air. "We have to get him into the sun and warm." He shouted to Indy while starting for shore.

"Right. Take Care's or should I get Anger Heart to heat him up fast?" Indy asked as they made it to the shore.

"He needs sun. Let's get him to his house he's got heat lamps there."

Brave Heart and Indy began dragging the alligator back to his house.

Love Heart and Confidence landed on the deck of the airship. "Alright, time to kick some Cold Heart ass!" Confidence grinned.

Love Heart took control, "First we need to save the forest. Cassy your wind to slow this ship down, I'll try to find and stop the engine before anything else freezes."

"Alright, then I'm going after that frozen freak!" Confidence turned to face out the front of the ship and conjured a blast of wind. The ship slowed but didn't stop as Love Heart charged down to the main deck.

Feeling his airship shudder and slow Cold Heart stomped his foot. "No! I will not let those Fuzzie wuzzies win! Frost Bite! Turn up the machine! All I want left of this forest is tree shaped icicles!"

"Duh you got it Professor." He ran to the machine and pulled a lever. Instantly the room temp dropped because of the ice coming from the machine.

"He's getting serious," Calm Heart noted as she and Bright Heart approached the airship.

Crossing his arms Bright Heart shivered, "If the air temperature was able to drop this quickly it means Cold Heart is utilizing cold fusion energy."

"Whatever he's using it's serious, especially if Confidence Heart is slowing the ship down instead of fighting. We'll have to work fast." Calm Heart pulled up next to the airship, "Not enough space to land."

"I can stare us a bridge." Standing in the cloud mobile and getting his balance, Bright Heart made a rainbow bridge for them to use to get to the airship.

Calm Heart followed after Bright Heart as he hit the deck. "Our best bet is to let Love Heart distract them while we stop the machine," Calm Heart said.

Bright Heart nodded, "Fine by me. I was never an offensive sort."

Love Heart arrived on the lower deck and spotted Cold Heart and Frostbite standing near the engine controls. "Hey, Cold Heart!" He pointed, "Stop this freeze machine right now!"

Seeing a bear he didn't recognize, Cold Heart frowned, "You must be new to this. I never surrender." Pulling a freeze ray from his pocket he fired some blasts at Love Heart.

Love Heart dodged. "My name is Love Heart and I'm, ya!" he dodged another freeze blast. "The leader of the Care Bear Magi an-" Love Heart dodged again behind a wall. "Man how did Confidence rehearse this," He berated himself. He shook his head before darting out. "Stop this now!" he charged towards the throttle, jumping over another freeze blast and grabbing the throttleand pushing it into full reverse.

"No! Professor Cold Heart said go front!" Frostbite grabbed the throttle and pushed it forwards, fighting Love Heart for the controls.

"That's it Frost Bite! Don't let him win." Looking out the window Cold Heart grinned seeing the forest below them was still freezing. "I told you Auntie Freeze!" He moved to assist his assistant with dislodging Love Heart.

"I won't let you win!" Love Heart shot out two weak bolts of lightning at Cold Heart and Frost Bite, knocking both of them back letting him force the level back to neutral.

"Duh, that tickles!" Frost Bite said, his eyes spinning in his head.

Love Heart charged his hand with lightning and snapped the lever off, "There! You're stuck!"

At the front of ship Confidence was knocked back by the sudden shift in throttle. "Good, he stopped it."

"It won't matter! Once this section of forest absorbs all the cold it can take, the rest will slide off its sub-zero cover and spread to the rest of the Forest of Feelings. Or as I plan to call it now, Forest of Frigid Feelings, home of the Cousincicles."

Cold Heart pointed out the window, "See that? Looks like some of your family is feeling the change." He was indicating Indy, Brave Heart, and Illusion.

"We'll stop you no matter what!" Love Heart retorted. "Even if I can't go all out," he added under his breath.

"You won't stop this, Fuzzy!" Cold Heart fired his freeze ray at the bear, freezing his feet in place.

Love Heart slipped and fell on his back, "Ow, damn that's cold!" Love Heart was forced to crawl out of sight as Cold Heart continued to fire. "Not one of my better moments," he admitted.

On the other side of the ship, Calm Heart and Bright Heart had to steady themselves as the ship stopped. "Can you find the machine Cold Heart's using, Bright Heart?"

"Yeah it's probably in the central cabin of the airship. It's the biggest space. Plus if I recall there is a set of bomb bay doors that cold could be expelled through." He motioned for Calm to follow him.

"I'll trust you on this. Lead on Bright Heart," Calm Heart encouraged him.

Below them Brave Heart was starting to feel the effects of the cold and having to drag the heavy Illusion home. Panting and seeing his breath he said to Indy, "I think it's gettin colder."

"Yes it is," Indy said. "But the ship stopped moving." He shuddered, "Even I can feel the cold. How does that thing work?"

"It's freezin' the entire forest. And I think it'll take a little more than our warm feelings to thaw it." Brave Heart said through chattering teeth. Luckily for them he saw Illusion's cabin coming into view. Ice crystals were just starting to form on the moss covered wood.

"I can try to hold the ice back, but they may need me back at the airship," Indy said as they reached the door.

"Just help me get Illusion inside then you can go. Hopefully Gloria is at home so she can help me bring 'em around."

Thankfully, Grateful was indeed at home, "What's going on, why is it so cold!" then she caught sight of Illusion and freaked out. "What happened! Illy what's wrong?!"

"It's Cold Heart, get Illusion's sun lamps!" Indy said.

Gloria disappeared from sight, going to the bedroom and rolling Etienne's heat lamps to the bed. Flicking them on she told Brave Heart and Indy. "Just put him down on the bed under the light. Once he warms up he should wake up." She didn't seem certain though."

Brave Heart asked "Should?"

Gloria looked really worried, "I've never seen him this cold before." As her boyfriend was laid on the bed she took his hand, rubbing it to keep it warm.

"I'll put up a barrier to try and keep the cold out, I'll try to help them all stop this from going farther," Indy said as he headed for the door.

Brave Heart put a hand on Gloria's shoulder, "You need me to do anythin' else darlin?"

"I don't know," Gloria admitted. A flash of light came from outside and the temperature in the room stopped dropping. "At least Indy stopped the cold for now," She said before she started rubbing the ice on Illusion to help melt it.

Pulling up a chair Brave Heart sat down, "I'm not goin anywhere then till you are sure. I think the others got it covered." Smiling at Gloria he added, "Plus Harmony always says I am full hot air so that's gotta do some good now.

Gloria couldn't help but laugh at that.

~~~

Love Heart was hitting his ice-encased feet on the ground, trying to shatter the ice, "This is not going how I thought it would."

"Come out Fuzzy Wuzzy. I'll do you a favor and freeze you so you don't have watch your family go." Cold Heart chuckled.

"Not so fast, Cold Heart!" a voice sounded from across the deck.

"Duh! another one!" Frost Bit pointed up at the figure.

Confidence struck a pose, "I am Confidence Heart Fennec of the Care Bear Magi. The martial artist of wind, and I'll stop you and your minions from freezing this forest no matter what!" she declared as she pointed at Cold Heart.

"No Matter what you say?" Pulling his jacket aside Cold Heart showed a control box with a blinking light. "What if I told you that if this was button were pressed, the machine would implode, spilling all its freeze all over everything it touches."

"This!" Confidence suddenly vanished. Cold Heart felt a breeze blow past as the control box was ripped from his jacket.

"What was that!" Cold Heart, tried to grab the vanished box from his jacket.

"Just a trick I didn't want to use," Confidence said from behind Cold Heart. She held up the control box, "I think Bright Heart will want this. Love Heart catch!" She threw the box over Cold Heart's head. Cold Heart tried to jump for it only for a wind burst to hurl it over his head.

Love Heart had managed to break the ice off his feet and darted out to catch the control box, just barely managing to avoid hitting the button.

"Give that back!" Cold Heart started shooting more ice blasts at Love Heart.

"Handle this Cassy, I'll get this to Bright Heart!" Love HEart called as he ran away.

"Aww, you lost your control box, but we can have some fun," Confidence Heart smiled at Cold Heart and Frost Bite.

~~~

"Is that Auntie Freeze in there?" Calm Heart asked, looking into the main cabin.

Bright Heart nodded, "She usually isn't a problem but I don't know if this time she is supporting his plan."

"Should I just distract her then?" Calm Heart asked, a large rock appearing in her hand.

"Please. I'll start analyzing the machine." Bright Heart began to take the roundabout way to the freeze machine.

"Guess Confidence Heart was right, this can be fun." Calm Heart managed a smile before throwing the rock through the window, where it landed next to Auntie Freeze.

The tall angular woman yelped, sounding like a strangled cat. "What in the world?" Looking down she saw the rock by her feet and snatched it up. "Who threw that? Show yourself."

"Right here!" Calm Heart stood up.

Auntie Freeze propped her hands on her hips. "I told Coldy that you lot would stop him. But of course he didn't listen to me." Rolling her eyes she shook her head, "Well, I suppose I can help him out a little." Pointing her finger at Calm she sent some icy magic her way.

Calm Heart dropped out of the way then popped up near the door, "Then come at get me." She held up her hand and created another rock, "Or maybe I should just smash that machine."

"Not while I'm standing here you won't! It will completely ruin my hair!" Running in her heels she attempted to freeze Calm Heart again.

"Too bad heels aren't good for running." Calm Heart smiled to herself as she led Auntie Freeze away.

Bright Heart reached the machine and began looking over the controls. "Hmmm if I can re-route the fusion energy and oppose polarization I should be able to reverse the affects." Crouching he began to look for something, "Now, let's see what kind of core you are operating on."

As Bright Heart pulled off an access panel Love Heart arrived, "Yeesh what happened to the window?" he asked as he entered the cabin.

"Calm Heart broke it to distract Auntie Freeze. Wait, what about Cold Heart?" Bright Heart turned to see Love Heart standing there with a control box in his hand.

"Confidence has got it under control. What about you?" Love Heart asked, moving up alongside Bright Heart.

"I just have to take a good look at this and I should be able to reverse the freezing effects. What's that?" Bright Heart pointed to the box in Love Heart's hand.

"A control switch. Cold Heart was planning to implode this ting and release the cold energy everywhere, until Confidence snatched it from him," Love Heart passed the control box to Bright Heart.

Bright Heart gave it a once over, "Just a simple controller, but keep an eye out while I work on this." Bright Heart turned back to the machine.

Confidence was grinning as she dodged more blasts form Cold Heart's freeze ray.

"Hold still you fuzzy wuzzy freak!" Cold Heart demanded.

"Why, this is fun!" Confidence laughed as she ducked under another shot.

"Frost Bite! Get her!" Cold Heart pointed.

"Duh OK!" The rotund little man made a clumsy dash at Confidence only for the fennec to jump over him and land on his back. She jumped off, kicking Frost Bit and sending him back into the wall behind her.

It took a moment for Frost Bite to right himself. "Oooh, Pretty birdies," he said, pointing a finger around his head.

"Aww, looks like your little henchman's all dizzy?" Confidence laughed until she felt a barrel press to her head.

"And now you'll be all frozen!" Cold Heart was about to pull the trigger when a flash of blue energy flew between them and the freeze gun in his hand broke in half.

"Sorry, Cold Heart. But we're leaving you out in the cold." Independent Bear stood there, and sheathed his katana.

Confidence gave him a thumbs up, "Nice entrance Indy."

"It doesn't matter you're too late to stop me!" Cold Heart declared.

"Oh, how so?" Indy asked, stepping forwards. "We've beaten you and your little lackey and Bright Heart's down below shutting down your giant freezer."

Both Indy and Confidence Heart were shocked when Cold Heart started cackling. "You ignorant stupid fuzzies! This isn't a freezer it's something even that so called 'genius' of your family can't hope to understand."

"This is bad," Bright Heart said as he stared at the open panel.

"Why? Can you just flip a switch and reverse the polarity or whatever?" Love Heart asked.

"It's not a freezer, it has a cold fusion reactor but whatever this is it's some sort of portal machine," Bright Heart sat back holding his head.

"I don't follow. How can a portal freeze things?" Love Heart asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"It's a portal to another plane of existence, like Pegasus Falls, but this place is a world of absolute cold, maybe even close to absolute zero, and he's just channeling the cold into our world," Bright Heart explained.

"So can't you just shut the portal?"

Bright Heart shook his head, "Cold Heart locked it to keep opening so it'll take me at least 30 minutes to shut it off and at the rate it's pouring out the forest and maybe even this spot will be frozen solid long before then."

Panic filled Love Heart's eyes, "So what do we do?"

"I don't know." Bright Heart held his head and shook it, "If it implodes the portal will be locked open and we'll be totally frozen but we can't just smash it because that will have the same effect."

"Good thing I didn't just destroy it earlier then. What about overloading the thing?" Love Heart offered.

"Maybe…" Bright Heart looked at the control box, "It's a long shot but if this machine overloads and we implode it then it might pull itself into the world it's opened a portal to. But we'd need a nuclear reactor or five to get enough energy to make this an actual overload." Bright Heart groaned.

Love Heart hmmed for a moment then said, "I think I have a solution. I could generate the power needed for this."

"Love Heart I don't think even lightning can make this thing overload, you just need too much," Bright Heart protested.

"Maybe not, but try this," Love Heart held up his hands and string of purple flashed between his hands. "It's plasma, really dense lightning," he said.

"That just might work, but can you generate enough?" Bright Heart asked, just staring at the small purple string that was dancing between the bear's hands.

"I can, but I'm going to be drained after I do it," Love Heart said. "Call Calm Heart, Confidence and Indy and tell them to get out of here. When I shoot a plasma ball into this machine we'll have to jump out and you can hit that switch."

"You know this might not work, we could just make this even worse than it already is," Bright Heart cautioned.

"And if we don't we're screwed for sure, just call them!" Love Heart shouted as he began to conjure an expanding ball of plasma in his hands.

Calm Heart heard her cell phone ring as she led Auntie Freeze around the ship and she pulled t out, "Yeah, Bright Heart?"

"_Calm Heart, we're going to overload Cold Heart's device and the set it to implode,"_ Bright Heart's voice came through the phone.

"What?!" Calm Heart shouted, nearly stopping but speeding up once she heard Auntie Freeze behind her.

"_I know it sounds crazy but we're out of options and running out of time! Just get out of here!"_

"Alright," Calm Heart stopped near one of the outside windows and turned to face Autnie Freeze. "Sorry, but I gotta run."

"You're not getting away from me," Autie Freeze shot magical ice at Calm Heart but she just dodged out of the way as it froze the window.

"Actually I am. I have a date with one of my boyfriends." Calm Heart conjured a rock which she used to smash the window. "And I know it's going to be much better than this little outing," she added as she jumped out, creating a rainbow roller for herself and drove away, staying away from the freezing cold below the ship.

Auntie Freeze shot some cold after Calm Heart but didn't bother trying to hit. "I knew this plan would fail. Coldy never gets this right," she huffed.

"What's that? Right got'cha." Indy hung up his cell phone, "Hey Confidence we gotta go!" Indy called to the fennec, who was currently engaged in a very one-sided brawl with Cold Heart.

"Aww, so soon? I was having so much fun," she joked.

"This is all fun to you!?" Cold Heart snapped as he tried to grab and throw her, only to miss as she jumped back.

Independent drew his sword and slashed the window behind him open, "Love Heart and Bright Heart are going to blow this place. We have to leave now!"

"Oh right." Confidence's expression turned instantly serious, "Sorry I can't stay to play but you have a date with an explosion." She jumped up to the broken window once Indy jumped out into a cloud car he had conjured.

"Sorry, Frozen Heart, but sounds like it's over. Let's do this again sometime though." She grinned then jumped into the passenger's seat.

"My name is COLD HEART!" the professor shouted angrily after the retreating Indy and Confidence, with the latter snickering to herself at the reaction she had provoked.

Love Heart was panting as he maintained the basketball sized ball of plasma in his hand. Bright Heart shut his cell phone and just stared. "That's a lot of plasma." The raccoon shook his head to break his stupor, "But they're out, throw it now!"

"Yeah." Love Heart took a deep breath and hurled the ball at the machine. Bright Heart grabbed the tired bear's hand and pulled him along as they headed back up to the outer deck right as they heard the plasma impact the machine, causing a massive shockwave to rippled through the machine.

They came to the halt at the front of the ship to find Confidence and Indy waiting there. "Need a ride?" Confidence offered, grinning.

"Thanks CAssy," Love Heart managed a weak smile as he practically fell into the car's back seat, followed by Bright Heart.

"Good, now get us as far away as you can, we don't have much time before the overload blows the machine up and the Kingdom of Caring becomes the Kingdom of Ice!" Bright Heart called. Wordlessly, Indy turned and hit the gas.

Cold Heart stumbled down towards the main cabin, only to be forced back as a stray string of plasma nearly hit him in the face. "My machine! What did they do to my Machine!?"

"Better hit it soon, Bright," Confidence called, looking at the airship as it shuddered and began to drop.

"Now or never." Bright Heart gulped and closed his eyes, then hit the switch.

There was terrible ghastly silence.

Then a terrible ghastly noise.

Then a terrible ghastly silence.

Bright Heart dared to open his eyes, "Did it work?" he asked

"Well the forest isn't frozen, well any more frozen than what Cold Heart managed to freeze," Indy said.

"And the ship?" Bright Heart asked.

"It's… gone," Confidence said.

"Gone, you mean it was destroyed?" Tenderheart asked, looking at the magi and Bright Heart as they sat in front of him to give their after-mission report.

"No, it was just there one second and then it was gone. It looked like it was suddenly sucked down a drain," Confidence explained.

"And we tried to hard not to kill him," Love Heart sighed, feeling disappointed.

"They're not dead," Indy spoke up before Tenderheart could start berating them.

"What do you mean, Indy?" Calm Heart asked.

"I can sense the spirits of the dead, much like Snowy and Valiant can, and I didn't sense their spirits being released. They were just gone," Indy explained.

"Gone, but gone where?" Tenderheart asked.

"Well it's possible that when we made the machine suck itself to its sub-zero world it pulled the whole airship and everyone on it along for the ride," Bright Heart suggested.

"So Cold Heart's trapped in an ice dimension?" Tenderheart asked.

"Good, he'll probably love it there." Confidence crossed her arms and smirked.

Tenderheart sighed, "Well it's not what I hoped would happen but either he'll be too happy to leave or he'll just come back to torment us when he figures a way out, but you didn't kill them so that's good at least."

"I told you we could do it, Tender." Calm Heart got up and gave the bear a kiss, "Now how about we spend some time together like I said?"

Tentatively he kissed her back, gripping her paw in the process. "For once, I think pleasure can come before work."

Grateful Heart had rubbed her hands raw melting the ice off Illusion and trying to warm him up and now she sat back, trying to bandage her sore hands as she watched the still unconscious Illusion.

Brave Heart was doing all he could to keep her spirits up. "He usually is slow ta start first thing in the morning anyway Grateful. I'm sure it will be any second now." Just to be safe he moved the heat lamp closer and tucked the blanket more firmly around his friend.

"I hope you're right," Grateful said as she struggled and dropped the bandages, sucking air through her teeth as she reached for them.

Before she could reach them though, Brave Heart was there picking up the bandages. "Let me help darlin." Turning the hand over, he gently began wrapping it in gauze.

"Thanks Brave Heart." Grateful smiled at the lion.

As he wrapped the last bit around her palm a groan sounded from behind them. "Warm..."

Looking to Illusion, Brave Heart grinned seeing his eyes twitching open. "I hope you are. I'm dang boiling in here."

"Illy!" Grateful practically threw herself on Etienne, "Can you hear me?" she asked, staring down at his face.

"But you're awake." Grateful gave Illusion a hug, careful not to squeeze him too hard.

Relishing her warm body on him Illusion closed his eyes with a happy sigh. Brave Heart slipped to the door, "I'll check in on ya later. I want to see how the gang handled Cold Heart."

"Cold Heart?" Illusion asked.

"He froze you in the river before we dragged you here to warm up. I think he's gone now." Grateful gave Illusion a kiss.

"Bien." He whispered as Gloria moved off, "Den I don have ta go aftah him." He attempted to bring his arms up but they were still pretty locked up. "Merde. Don look like I'm thawed completely yet."

Grateful giggled and held Etienne even closer, "Then I'll help warm you up, Illy."

"Merci chere." Glancing down he saw her hands wrapped up in gauze. "Wha happened Glory? You hands look like you been boxing a brick wall."

"I was rubbing you to try and warm you up," Grateful answered.

Even though it caused him pain, Etienne grasped one of her hands and brought it to his mouth. Kissing them gently he replied, "Desole Glory. You shouldn' have worried so."

"I was scared, Illy. Half your body was frozen in ice when Indy and Brave Heart dragged you in here." Grateful gave Illusion another kiss, "I couldn't handle it if I lost you."

Using his long chin, Illusion gently rubbed his head along Gloria's in a gator display of affection. "I'd have ta be frozen solid an' dropped in de Arctic Ocean to not come back to you mon amour."

"Dang blasted fuzzy wuzzies, as soon as I get out of this I'll make them pay!" Cold Heart shouted as he forced the debris of his air cruiser aside as he clawed his way to freedom.

"I don't want to say I told you so Coldy, but here we are again in the ruins of your failed plan." Auntie Freeze declared as she brushed her coat off.

"Shut up! Everything was going fine until those new ones showed up. If I had known about them I would have had a plan to stop them!" He countered as he reached a still solid window. "Frost Bite, help me break this window!"

"You got it Professor." Picking up a broken pipe he ran at the window and jumped on Professor Cold Heart to reach it. Even as the Professor yelled at him, Frost Bite swatted the glass out of the window.

"Idiot," Cold Heart groused as he pushed his way out of the ship and stared at the jungle-like are surrounding him. "What is this place?!" he demanded.

Auntie Freeze shoved him aside roughly so she could peer out the window. "Looks like a jungle to me. What the heck are we doing here?" A large mosquito buzzed by making her shriek and back away.

"My freezing portal must had dragged us here," Cold Heart guessed as he stood up outside. "This certainly isn't Earth and it's hot!" he added.

"Really hot." Frostbite removed the earmuffs, ski hat, and big blue jacket he was wearing.

"Well then how do we get out of here?" Freeze too began to fan herself by flapping the edges of her coat.

"I don't know yet, but I do know I need to make this place colder or I'm going to melt." Cold Heart began marching around the wrecked airship, "Give me a minute to get something together."

"That's alright Professor. I can work on my tan." Laying back on the ground, Frostbite closed his eyes.


End file.
